Chapter 8

The castle is in chaos when a maid reports that the princess wasn't in bed in the morning. They search the castle up and down, and the girl is still nowhere to be found. Cyrus notifies them that the girl is fine, and that she was just out wandering for the day. The castle calms down eventually, and they don't worry as much anymore.

Crecylla loses track of time in the cottage, and when she wakes up in the morning, she feels incredible. She eats a handful of berries in the morning, and she heads off on her horse to go back to the castle. When she arrives, the castle crowds around her. Where had she learned to take care of herself? Was she even allowed to ride a horse? So many restrictions in the kingdom.

When Cyra hears the news that she was to be taken in as the King's official mistress, she's elated. She could finally be reunited with the love of her life, and she could live happily ever after. So when she receives news that the princess he was to be wed to was breaking rules, she was excited to see if Cyrus would break a handful of rules for her. She wanted to be the one next to him in all those events, not some knock off princess from another empire. She wants to be by his side, and if that means kicking the princess out, then so be it.

Crecylla first notices how pretty the girl is. Her hair is a brilliant silver, and she looks ethereal. It was almost as if she had been crafted by the gods for the prince. So when she offers her to leave the castle in exchange for the throne, Crecylla agrees instantly. Cyra was half expecting her to put up a fight, but she doesn't mind. Crecylla sneaks off to the nearby Floral empire, and takes her leave for good.

The first thing Cyrus realizes when he sees Cyra in Crecylla's room is that the princess had left. He loved the girl with all his heart really, but he's more concerned as to how he's going to explain to Diana's King and Queen about where their precious daughter was. Diana couldn't afford to lose another princess, and Luna was in no position to rule the throne. He asks the girl where Crecylla is, why she had let her leave, and he doesn't once suspect that she's the one who suggested for her to leave. She soothes him, and he calms down.

Crecylla notices that the cottage she had been staying in the night before was actually in the floral kingdom. She decides to stay there for the night, and then find another lodging the next day. One day turns into three months, which turns into 5 years. Cyrus had been wed to Cyra as his official queen, and in order to keep the treaty, Helios and Luna had been wed. Crecylla doesn't keep up with the news, and her black hair had grown to back's length. Her ocean blue eyes hold the same amount of emotion as before, and her dainty hands have grown slightly rough around the edges from the plant handling.

Luna thinks about her sister often. Was she doing ok? How had she been? Did she finally reach her state of euphoria? Or did she… no. She mustn't think of that. She was sure that wherever her sister was, that she was being taken care of or taking care of herself. Her marriage with Helios was gorgeous, and he treated her like the world. She was allowed to rule, but Helios was to stay with her at all times. She missed her sister and her stories often, but she had responsibilities to handle. She doesn't understand how Crecylla had the time to read her to sleep all those nights so long ago.

Cyrus is tired. Cyra is in no condition to rule, and he has to clean up after all the mistakes that she makes while talking with the diplomats. She wasn't raised to be fit for the throne, and there were so many issues that came with her as the queen. He almost regret announcing her as queen and going against his parents' wishes. But he was sure with a bit more practice, his queen would be as strong as the rest. After all, practice made perfect.

Crecylla doesn't have any plans to return to the castle, but she did had plans to join the military. There was a certain sense of joy she got from fighting alongside guards. What better way to return than to join the guards of Phoenicia? Her entrance in was easy, hunting in the wild had paid off, and she seemed far more skilled than most guards there. Her first role? To guard the queen of Phoenicia herself. Cyra. Crecylla found it ironic, and couldn't wait to have some fun with her.

Cyra notices that her new female guard looked suspiciously like the previous princess, and when she questions her, she only apologized. She seemed unlike the spontaneous princess. Her movement is quick, and when the queen nearly get assassinated after a handful of days, she moves faster than the assassin. By the time that the queen had realized that she was being targeted, said assassin was already motionless on the floor. Two other guards haul them off, and the amount of filth spewed by the assassin makes Crecylla grimace.

Cyrus is absolutely positive that the new soldier that Sirius had recruited was some distant relative of Crecylla. He was sure she was here to get down to why on earth Crecylla had ran away. Hell he wasn't even sure if she was alive. So when the soldier absolutely destroys the assassination attempt to the queen, he's convinced that she might just be Crecylla herself. What was she doing back here? She was supposed to be enjoying the cottage out in the Floral empire why in the sky's name was she back here?

Crecylla catches the way the other guard talks about the queen. While she isn't in a position to mention anything, she preps herself in case they actually attempt an assassination. So when the guard actually tries to hurt the queen, she immobilizes them immediately. They're dragged off, and she hears Cyra let out a sigh of relief. She questions why the queen would sigh, but she doesn't comment on it. She needed to make sure that her contacts didn't loosen up on her eyes and reveal her eye color.

Cyrus invites Crecylla to dinner, and she has to turn them down. She was not getting into one of those horrid dresses again. He offers that she could just stay in her knight outfit, but she turns it down nonetheless. It didn't matter, she just didn't want to have dinner with them. So Cyrus makes sure to make her a deal she can't deny.