Caroline couldn't stand having the same terrifying nightmare every night; just the thought of Tristan dying was enough to make her cry but dreaming about it? It was more pain than she could take.

Every night she got closer to seeing the person that shot the fatal arrow, but she never saw their identity. She was used to know who the people she saw in her dreams were, so it felt weird not knowing the identity of the person that could potentially kill her brother.

The identity of the person that mattered the most.

Why do I keep having the same dream over and over again? It's not like I can stop this from happening, I already tried but Tristan left anyway, she kept thinking.

Normally, she'd ask Tristan for help but he wasn't an option, since he wasn't around and this whole thing was about him. That's why she went to the only person she'd been able to talk to ever since her brother left; Lux.

Lux knew things. She might have been a cold, mean and distant person, but she had been through a lot. Caroline wondered what led to her and Cheryl having such a damaged relationship and why they hated each other so much. There was clearly some tension there; Caroline could feel it without even having them both in the same room.


When Caroline found Lux, she noticed a scar she'd never noticed before; one that ran deep from her upper chest and, most probably, down her heart. She'd never seen it before, probably because Lux never wore anything as "revealing" as this and, even though she knew it would be inappropriate and indiscreet, Caroline felt the need to ask her where she got it.

“What?”, Lux was taken aback at first.

“That scar. Where did you get it?”

“Questions are annoying in general, but when they're on point, like yours, they're just despicable...”, the witch sighed. He bottom lip was trembling lightly and she seemed to be on the verge of tears, but the way she held herself hid it pretty well.

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm just worried. And curious.”, Caroline shrugged.

“Of course I don't have to tell you, but I've taken a liking into you... We have a lot in common.”, Lux said bitterly.

“Thanks?”

“That's not a good thing.”

“Why not?”

“What did I say about your questions?”

“That they're despicable.”

“Exactly.”, Lux said, a light chuckle escaping her.

“The scar.”, Caroline reminded her.

“Right.”, the woman frowned. “I had my soul bound to someone a long time ago. Do you know what a binding spell is?”

“Yeah.”, Caroline said immediately, but she brought her hand over her mouth when she realised what she'd said.

“How do you know about binding spells?”, Lux asked her suspiciously.

“I spend a lot of time in the library.”, the princess lied.

“Right...”, the witch said on disbelief. “Anyway, that person died a while ago. When the person you're bound to dies... well, this happens.”, she sighed again, tears welling up in her eyes again.

“Who were you bound to?”, Caroline asked again.

“Yeah, nice try. There's a reason I didn't tell you his name.”, Lux crossed her arms.

“Fine.”, Caroline grumbled.

“Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

“Your questions are just as despicable as mine.”, the princess rolled her eyes. “Yeah. I've been having a recurring nightmare and I'm afraid it might come true.”

Lux froze, remembering one other time she'd heard the exact same words. It had taken place years before, when Caroline hadn't been born yet. Before the civil war broke out. Before Alastor had married Olivia.

She'd been in the palace, talking with Queen Olivia herself. She'd always liked Olivia; she'd been an accepting and understanding person, unlike most people in Lux's life.

Livie (that's what she called her) had told her the exact same words her daughter was saying to her all those years later and Lux had been, once again, eager to help.

“What kind of nightmare?”, she'd asked.

“It's about Beatrice.”, Olivia had frowned.

Lux had tried to keep a scowl from escaping her, but failed. “What about her?”, she'd grumbled. She wasn't a fan of Beatrice, but she liked her much more than she did Cheryl. Both of her half-sisters had yet to accept her, but Cheryl had always been firm on the notion that it was Lux's fault that her parents broke up.

That's right, Lux's mother had had an affair with Cheryl and Beatrice's father before she met Darren, Erebos' father, but that's a Astor for another time.

“I- I'm worried that someone might kill her.”, Olivia had sobbed.

“What?! Who?”, Lux had asked worriedly. It had been before she became so cold-blooded. Before she'd lost most of the people she cared about.

“I don't know. I can't see their face, but I keep dreaming that someone will push her off her balcony and I'm afraid I can't stop it.”, Livie had burst into tears. “I know that you don't like her, but can you help me? I have to save her. There must be a reason I'm dreaming about this...”, she'd pleaded.

“Lux!”, Caroline's voice snapped her out of the memory.

“Huh?”, Lux turned to look at the teenager.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine.”, Lux gulped. “What were you saying?”

“The nightmare.”, Caroline reminded her.

“Right. What kind of nightmare?”

“It's about Tristan.”

“What about him?”

“I'm worried someone might kill him.”, Caroline gulped.

“What?! Who?”

“I don't know. I can't see their face. I every time I get close to figuring it out, but I don't think I can keep this up any longer. I don't want my brother to die, I have to help him!”, Caroline sobbed.


Lux closed her eyes and tried to compose herself.

“Livie, calm down! Beatrice isn't going to die.”

“How are you so sure, Lucy?”, Olivia had sniffled.

“Because I'll help you out, okay? It's going to be fine.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise.”


The memory of this dialogue only made Lux feel worse.

“Okay, relax.”, she laid her hands on Caroline's shoulders. “Tristan is going to be fine.”

“How do you know that?”

“I know it, because I'm going to help you save him.”

“Do you promise?”

Lux felt a lump form on her throat. “I promise.”, she gulped.

“Thank you so much...”, Caroline sobbed and hugged Lux tightly. Lux froze again for a second then awkwardly patted her goddaughter on the back.

“Don't mention it...”


*~°~*


“Where are they? What the hell is taking them so long?”, Scott grumbled. Crystal had managed to persuade him to lie down with his head on her lap and she was playing with his hair.

“I don't know... Why? Am I not good enough company for you?”, she rolled her eyes.

“That's not what I meant.”

“Right.”, she scoffed.

“Come on, princess, you know that was not what I meant.”

“So now I'm princess again?”, she crossed her arms.

“What are you talking about? You've always been princess.”,he sat up.

“Seriously? You've barely said a few words to me these days! It's as if whenever I get close to you, you try your best to keep me away!”, she said in exasperation.

Because that's exactly what I'm doing, Scott thought.

“Maybe I didn't have anything to say.”, he shrugged.

“Are you kidding me? You never have anything to say! You're always talking, but you're never really saying anything! I've told you this before, when we first met; you know everything about my life but I barely know the basics about yours. I know it can be painful, but you can talk to me. Opening up isn't bad. We've been through too much together for you not to be able to trust me.”, Crystal frowned.

“I'm just not ready to talk about that part of my life, okay?”

“Of course it's okay! I just don't get why you're so distant at times. You can talk to me whenever you want, I'll always be here for you, just don't shut me out completely.”

If only you knew... he thought again.

“Fine.”, he gave up.

“I'm sorry... I don't mean to be so pushy... I'm just trying to help.”, Crystal looked away.

“It's okay, I know.”, he smiled thinly at her.

“Am I really that predictable?”

“After all this time, yes, you are.”

“It hasn't been that long...”, she rolled her eyes again. “It can't be more than a month and a half.”

“It feels like much longer, doesn't it?”

“Yeah, it does...”, she sighed. “Now come back here. I'm not done with your hair.”, she smiled evilly.

“Dammit... Make sure I don't go bald, alright?”, he joked.


Crystal waited until Scott's head was back on her lap before she replied.

“No promises.”, she smirked.


That's when the door opened and Violet walked in along with Phoebe.

They were empty handed.

“Where's the food?”, Scott asked them.

They glanced at each other. “We ate it.”, Violet shrugged.

“Violet!”, Crystal protested.

“Sorry! I was talking about Tristan and Phoebe was talking about Caroline and we got distracted...”, the witch muttered.

“Again; Caroline, Phoebes? Really? You can do better than that.”, Scott rolled his eyes.

“Shut up...”, Phoebe blushed and threw a pillow at him, but missed and hit Crystal square in the face.

“Okay, this means war.”, Crystal glared at her.

“Sorry! I meant to hit my stupid brother!”

“You're not helping you case, Phoebes...”, Scott got up, crossing his arms.

“Pillow fight!”, Violet declared and pillows started being launched from the one side of the room to the other.


This went on for a long time, until the door opened and Cheryl appeared at the doorframe.

“Gah!”, everyone said at the same time, startled by her sudden entrance. Three pillows landed on her feet and a fourth hit her in the face, making her stumble backwards.


Her eye started twitching.

“What the hell are you doing?”, she exclaimed. The four teenagers looked away in embarrassment. “How dare you have a pillow fight without me?”, she added and rushed in the room, shutting the door behind her.

And the pillows went back into action. Soon, everyone was lying down at some part of the room, panting and exhausted.

“We were supposed to be taking a nap.”, Phoebe muttered.

“Shhh... It's not what we were supposed to do that matters, it's what we actually did...”, Violet patted her friend's foot from her place on the floor.

“Well, it's not too late to take a nap, if you ask me.”, Crystal muttered and hugged her pillow from the bed she was lying on.

“Agreed...”, Scott said, sitting up from the rug he was on.

“Alright kids, I'll leave you all to it.”, Cheryl smiled as she got up and headed for the door. “I'll be in my room if you need me.”, she added, leaving them.

“Am I the only one too bored to get up and go lie down in a bed?”, Phoebe asked.

“No.”, Scott and Violet said in unison.

“I don't know whether to be proud or disappointed.”, Crystal shook her head.

“Shut up, princess, you're already on a bed...”

“Exactly. Now be quiet, I want to sleep...”, she mumbled and turned her back on everyone.

Phoebe and Violet exchanged a glance and rushed to Violet's bed. Phoebe gave her brother a smirk. Scott glared at her. She shrugged.

“We can share if you want.”, Crystal mumbled. “It wouldn't be the first time, anyway.”

Violet turned to look at Phoebe, her eyes wide.

“You've shared a bed before?!”, she asked in surprise.

Scott turned red. “It was when we came to see mom. There was only one room available and it had a double bed.”, he explained, standing up from the floor. “Princess, it's okay, I can go to my room--”

“Don't be stupid!”, all girls said at the same time. Scott glared at Phoebe and Violet.

“I don't mind it, really.”, Crystal added, scooting over to make space for Scott.

“Fine...”, he grumbled, still red, and lied down next to her. “I hate you.”, he mouthed at his sister. Phoebe burst out laughing before lying down back to back with Violet and closing her eyes with an evident smirk on her lips.


*~°~*


Lux was wandering the palace when she passed by the room that used to be Beatrice's. It was a small room, one fit for a servant. Lux would know, she'd been one too once.

She glanced around suspiciously, then turned the doorknob and entered the room.

She had been standing underneath the balcony when it happened. She'd been there. She could have stopped it.

Beatrice had been having a fight with someone in her room when she stumbled backwards, coming out in the fateful balcony.

“Stop pushing me! I didn't want this either and you know it!”, she'd yelled.

“Bea, watch out!”, Lux had yelled just as the person Beatrice was fighting with gave her one more shove, sending her falling off with a loud scream. “Beatrice!”, Lux had shrieked. She looked up as the killer rushed to the bars, looking down in shock.

That's when he spotted Lux and they looked into each other's eyes.

“Al?”, the witch had whispered as Alastor Cornel rushed back into the palace.

And there, in the ground, was Beatrice Floreline in a pool of blood, her broken limbs lying in sickening angles.

She ran her hand through her hair and looked around the dark room. It hadn't changed at all since the last time she'd been in there. It was a little tidier and all of Beatrice's stuff had been cleared out, but it was pretty much the same.

Lux walked over to the balcony door, opened it and slowly stepped outside.

And all she could see as she looked down was the dead body of her half-sister, someone she could have saved if she hadn't panicked. If only she'd concentrated on levitating her instead of standing frozen as the poor girl fell down to her death...

Beatrice had been twenty-two when she died. Lux had been sixteen. Her killer was seventeen.

And because Lux was a coward, no one ever found out who the killer of Beatrice Floreline had been. Because she was a coward, everyone thought she killed herself.

She clutched the bars and started sobbing. Why can't I do anything right?

And as she was crying, she started remembering everything she'd done wrong, her biggest mistake being choosing revenge over the person she loved most.

She walked back inside the room, sat at the edge of the bed and buried her face in her hands.

I'm so sorry, Benny... I should have come with you when I had the chance...