Chapter 34: The Plan
"Nothing will happen to your friend as long as you do as I say..." Xia smirked
"...." Ivery turned around and walked away
Ivery had to talk to Luther...she didn't want to hurt him nor did she want to leave him...but she wasn't going to put Beatrice in harm's way...nor let her suffer...but she also wasn't going to let Xia get her way so easily...she needed a plan..
This wasn't going to be the ending of everything...she was going to make sure of that.
....
Ivery walked back into the cafeteria with a frustrated look on her face.
Instead of walking to the table that Beatrice sat at, she walked towards the MVP table.
She walked up the three small steps and looked at Luther.
"What's wrong?" Luther asked, noticing her frustrated eyes
"I need to talk to you about something.." Ivery said
Luther stood up from his chair and pushed it near the table. He walked down the three steps and Ivery followed.
....
Ivery and Luther stood in the empty hallways. Luther was patiently waiting to hear whatever she had to say.
"Xia was here" Ivery told him
"Xia? Isn't she in a prison cell?" Luther raised an eyebrow
"She...had a pentagram mark on her forehead, her eyes....were pitch black and her hair was a different color....for her to be able to escape from her cell and heal her injuries to such a far extent... she's being helped by someone with dark magic.." Ivery was stuck in deep thought
"Then, what did she say to you...?" Luther asked
"She told me to resign from my position as Crown Princess and as your fiance.." Ivery replied with a sad look in her eyes
"She indirectly threatened me...that she'd hurt Beatrice if I didn't comply" Ivery's voice cracked
"And you said?" Luther leaned back on the wall and crossed his arms, anticipating her next answer
"I told her I would...as long as she didn't harm Beatrice..." Ivery said
"You'd choose a little friend you made over your empire and status as Crown Princess and future Empress of both of our empires? And you'd really choose her over me?" Luther smiled yet with a sad expression, the look in his eyes was chilling
"No, I won't give my status up nor will I leave your side as your fiance...but I also won't let Beatrice be harmed because of me.." Ivery declared
"Then what will you do? Can you really have it both ways?" Luther looked at her
"I obviously can't as long as Xia is around..." Ivery bit her finger in frustration
"So what if....we-" A light bulb turned on in Ivery's head
.....
When Ivery arrived at the Lilith Castle, she requested an immediate audience with her parents.
...
"What's wrong dear?" Cassandra and Julian walked into her room
"I have a request to make and I hope you both can help me with it" Ivery sat on a chair and sipped her tea as she looked at her parents
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Julian hosted a grand event for all of the nobles and royals in the area the day after.
Everyone leisurely chatted amongst each other and enjoyed the evening..
....
Suddenly the doors burst open.
"F-Father!" A little girl with light blonde hair and ruby red eyes tearfully came rushing into the grandiose room filled with high royals and nobles
She was dressed in a small red dress that puffed out to the ends of her feet. Small red twinkling diamonds connected to a golden chain were attached to her beautiful dress and every single one of them made small clinks as she ran into the room.
Everyone already knew about Princess Inanna's current condition, so everyone instantly recognized her as the Crown Princess.
"Crown Princess Inanna! What is the reason for this blatant display!? Are you trying to embarrass me?!" Julian shouted
"Forgive me! I wish to tell you...something!" Ivery quickly bowed
"Speak!" Julian raised his voice louder
"I've lost all connections to my prowess core....I no longer have access to my infinite energy to be able to use my infinite attribute...!" Tears flowed down Ivery's face as she shouted out to her father
"Then you are useless! Take her back to the Hollow's Castle, it's more fitting for someone as incompetent as her" Julian yelled out to the guards
"Father no! Please!" Ivery cried out
"The engagement between Crown Prince Luther and Crown Princess Inanna is now annulled! Crown Princess Inanna is relieved from her status as Crown Princess and shall return to the Hollow's Castle to await her execution!" Julian loudly announced to everyone in the room
Everyone gasped and whispered to each other.
The guards grab Ivery and she desperately pleads to her father to not send her back. Ivery spotted Luther as he simply watched on the side, casually drinking wine.
"Luther! Stop them..please!" She pleads to Luther
He looks at her with cold eyes.
"You really think I'd help someone as useless as you?" He replied with a smirk, he slightly moved his glass, swirling around the wine inside
"Pathetic, remove her from my sight, I'm ashamed to ever have been engaged to her...." Luther waved to the guards to proceed to take her away
She shouts his name in tears as she's dragged away...
...
Ivery is soon thrown back in the Hollows Castle, the same dilapidated place she hasn't seen or set foot in years.
She is rudely greeted by the maids,
"It's only been four years and she's already back" One of the maids snickered
"Once a useless brat, always a useless brat" The other maid laughed with the other maid
"That makes her child 31...great...another brat to look after" A maid with dark orange-colored hair rocked in a rocking chair as she read a book, not looking at Ivery once
Ivery ignored the maids and rushed upstairs to her old room.
She turned the door handle and it came right off in her hand....the door creaked as she pushed it inwards, she looked around the room and it was in the same exact state it was in since she left, purely disgusting.
She touched the decaying wall and the whole room transformed into a heavily polished and well-kept room.
Ivery put the door handle on a nearby table and sat down on the bed
Her hands glowed and she quickly summoned Loki.
"So...we're back here again" Loki sighed
"Just temporarily, until I, Luther, and my parents are able to find out and deal with Xia and whoever's helping her in the shadows.." Ivery said
"Who could be helping her?" Loki asked
"How should I know?" Ivery shrugged
"Maybe you can call Hecate to help? Maybe she knows something.." Loki suggested
"Maybe..." Ivery thought about it
.....
"No need...I'm already here.." Hecate appeared in the room
"Hecate?" Ivery looked up at the godly figure floating in front of her
"Xia has made a deal with a dark fallen God..." Hecate told Ivery with a slight expression of sadness
"Fallen god like Loki?" Ivery asked
"Yes, and no" Hecate told her
"Loki is a fallen God that was temporarily cast out of the Heavens because of his constant misdeeds, but he didn't give in to the darkness" Hecate explained
"The God Xia made a deal with is a God that was banished for all of eternity and fell into despair and decided to abandon the light and fell into the darkness" Hecate explained further
"So there are evil gods in this world too?" Ivery asked
"Yes, there are three different types of Gods, Gods, Dark Gods and Demi-Gods, Gods that are banished can be persuaded by Satan and his demons to become Dark Gods that only tempt humans to make deals with them, in exchange for a life-altering price" Hecate slightly frowned
"Satan is in this world?!" Ivery was surprised
"Yes, there are different Satans for every world just like there are different Gods for each world, so of course this world has one too" Hecate told Ivery
"Then is Hades a dark god?" Ivery was curious to know, he didn't have the same aura Hecate did...his aura felt intensely ominous
"Hades is a special type of dark god, his true nature is death and darkness but he is still a god in the Heavans, although he has not been tempted by Satan or fallen gods, he and Satan are connected since Hades is the God of Death, since Hades sends evil souls to Hell afterall" Hecate said
"Who is the dark god that's helping Xia?" Ivery asked
"Eos, the goddess of dawn..." Hecate said the name of the God
"What happened to her that she became a Dark God?" Ivery wondered
"She tried to kill me thousands of years ago...." Hecate told her
"It is highly forbidden for Gods to kill each other....since I am the origin of all magic, my position is invaluable to the Gods and all below" Hecate stated
"If I were to die, all magic would slowly perish"
...
"Aren't gods immortal though?" Ivery asked
"Not necessarily, Gods can be only be killed and injured by ancient holy artifacts that take the form of weapons, but the ancient holy artifacts are scattered all over the God realm and throughout the Heavens and even below the Heavens...but somehow Eos managed to obtain the dagger of Obilosis.." Hecate replied to Ivery's question
"I didn't notice her intentions until it was too late and she stabbed me with the dagger in my back....I never suspected she'd do something like that..." A single tear rolled down Hecate's face
"But...Hades came to help me and immediately banished Eos for all of eternity for injuring me and attempting to murder a high Goddess"
"I still don't know to this very day as to why...she wanted me dead.." Hecate painfully smiled
...
"Ivery...you must be careful, your powers are strong indeed, but not against Eos...so I will do my best to protect you from any harm that Eos may cause...but try not to enrage her any further than she already is if you ever encounter her...she almost killed me...and she could possibly do something to you that I might not be able to even bring you back from" Hecate's figure slowly dissipated
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"What to do....what to do..." Ivery played with her thumbs
"Let's sleep on it, we might be able to think better if we're well-rested" Loki said as he curled into a ball at the foot of the bed
"Goodnight Loki.." Ivery detached the outer layer of her dress and tossed it on a chair
She laid down on a pillow and closed her eyes...
.....
Ivery adjusted herself to get comfortable in bed, she rolled onto her other side and reached for a pillow to hug.
She felt the pillow and it was abnormally hard...
Ivery opened her eyes and saw....a beautiful boy next to her, looking straight at her.
His purple eyes were extremely familiar to her...his long black hair draping over his shoulders and spilled on the bed.
"You're finally awake, tired after all of that acting?" He smiled
"L-Luther?" Ivery sat up and looked at him...knowing her fiance all too well
"I assumed it would be fine to be in bed with you if I took this appearance" Luther's current appearance was that of an 8-year-old boy
"Why..are you here?" Ivery asked
"Well, since you're not supposed to use your magic, for the time being, I decided to stay here with you until everything is settled" He innocently smiled at her, causing her heart her tremble
No matter his age, he was always beautifully stunning.
She'd never get used to his unparalleled countance...
His younger appearance was uncannily similar to a beautiful little girl....his features were so delicate and smooth...he could easily be mistaken for a girl, he probably was seen differently when he was this age...
But Ivery couldn't help but see both a mixture of a boy and a girl in his appearance, if she looked more intently she could clearly see that he is in fact male...
"My parents already know the situation, so temporarily staying here isn't a problem.." Luther's small hand rubbed her cheek
Even though his hands were smaller than usual...they were still bigger than hers...
"There are more maids than there were here four years ago.." Ivery told him with a stern look
"Maids are nothing more than livestock, they can die and no one will care, and they can be easily replaced....they're truly despicable creatures...they pose no problem for me" Luther chuckled as the look in his eyes turned sadistic
Ivery fully understood Luther's detestation for maids, his childhood was filled with bad memories and experiences....
Mostly all maids have the same mindset, and their true colors are unable to be shown to their masters...they're all in truth greedy and impertinent.
...
The room door abruptly opened..
"Child 31, it's time for your nightly chores" A dark blonde haired maid rudely entered the room
She stopped and stared in shock at the room she stood in...baffled at the sight...how could any of these rooms be so cleaned and stable?
Her eyes then locked on Luther who sat in bed beside Ivery...
"Who are you?" The maid asked as she looked at him with icy eyes
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