THE END IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Eight months had passed, and Isabelle spent every day in the same room. It was either she stayed there, where she could be safe with her unborn child, or she would leave…and probably die mysteriously like the others. She spent her days isolated. Loneliness became her constant companion. She yearned for the prince's embrace, the whispers of his affection, and the warmth of his love. But these desires were just distant dreams, fading like shadows on the wall as she sat alone in the room. She hadn't seen sunlight since she came into the room. All she was able to do was eat, walk around the room and go back to sleep once she was mentally drained from depression. As she was in there, she wrote letters everyday, to everyone she cared about, she did it to feel heard, and less lonely, since she had no one to talk to, apart from the baby in her. In the past eight months, Sky had never come to see her, not even once. She knew he must've sacrificed a lot to keep her alive.

Madolika and William's wedding was nearing, as preparations had began, Desperalda's wicked plan, was also ready, to get rid of Madolika.

It was a day like any other, when Madolika received a letter from Prince Oscar, asking her to meet him in a secret location within the palace at night. An unsuspecting Madolika agreed, unaware of the dangers in the palace since everyone had treated her well, almost everyone. "Are you sure I will be able to marry her?" Oscar asked Desperalda. "Of course. Her father is the minister of war. If they find out she has cheated on William, and you ask for her hand in marriage, next week, Nyxerias will be walking down the altar to you. Revealing this secret will not put just her but the minster of war and the king himself in a bad light, so they'll all cover it up, and nothing can be done to you. You will also be married to the most beautiful woman in the kingdom" Desperalda said to Oscar, to fuel the thoughts of jealousy she had been planting in him.

Later that night, Madolika walked into their trap, the unsuspecting princess warmly greeted the prince. His gaze, heavy with desire, lingered on her every move, tracing the curves of her form as if she were a forbidden treasure. He was captivated by her beauty, unable to quell the burning jealousy that coursed through him. 'I deserve good things too' Oscar thought to himself as he started. He offered Madolika a cup of tea, which Madolika accepted out of courtesy. After drinking the tea, Madolika found herself feeling dizzy and lost consciousness for a little while. Oscar went out and told Desperalda's maid to inform Desperalda that the plan was working. The maid left to report to Desperalda and within a short while, Keia had informed her mother, the chatelaine queen about it and they made their way for the secret place.

The effects of the drug wore off, as Desperalda wasn't an ordinary person. She woke up and saw Oscar trying to take off her clothes. She pushed him away but he caught her by the hand. As they were struggling, Madolika realized her strength was no match for him. Enraged, Madolika recited a spell and suddenly, Oscar began to levitate. "What is going on? Put me down!" Oscar shouted in fear. "You're all the same. Banda and his descendants. I hate you, I hate you all" Madolika screamed, causing the windows to burst, as a strong wind blew into the room, and dark clouds suddenly covered the skies. "You are all evil!" Madolika cried out, as blue flames ignited from her eyes. Tears flowed down her cheeks, blue tears, sparkling like sapphire, as the memories of that day flooded her mind. "Die" She mumbled in what was almost a whisper as Oscar's body began to stretch apart, as if his arms and legs were all being pulled in opposite directions so he would be torn apart. Just then, the queen and the princesses came in. "A sorcerer!" The queen shouted in fear and the others ran away, screaming. No one wanted to be near, everyone, even the Queen, ran for her life. The winds shut the doors and Oscar suddenly fell, unable to move although his body was intact. "Why did you do this? What did I ever do to you? Why did you kill them? Why?" Madolika asked, in that moment, caught in hallucination, as she now saw not Oscar, but prince Banda. She approached him calmly, while the terrified prince Oscar, begged for his life. Suddenly, a fragrant smoke filled the room and Madolika fell unconscious.

Sky rushed in along with the king and other soldiers and they saw Madolika, laying unconscious. They arrested her and took her down into one of the darkest dungeons, where the sorcerers had been kept, and a strange incense kept burning. The incense was like torture to the sorcerers, as they struggled to breathe, but didn't die. They couldn't use their powers because they had been weakened so much by the incense. This was the same incense Prince Banda had used to weaken the king of Banki and the other sorcerers back then in order to defeat them. It had been passed down for generations and now, Madolika found herself a victim of it. Madolika woke up, surrounded by nothing but iron bars. "Who are you?" A voice asked her. She got up, trying to recognize her environment. "It's a prison made especially for sorcerers. You're probably drained of all your strength" The voice said to her as she tried to rise to her feet but fell down, her body unable to support her. 'Can you hear me? Please help me Isauro' Madolika mumbled weakly. "Madolika?" Isauro asked from his room at home. After finding out what had happened, Isauro left home, to go and save Madolika. The minister of war had fled to the sorcerers' hideout and Madolika told Isauro about that place. When Isauro got there, he explained to the sorcerer in the house, wanting him to let him through the portal. "I still don't believe you" The sorcerer said to Isauro. "Okay, Adolika told me that…" He started and went on to describe important parts of the hideout, which only a few people knew, one of whom was Madolika. After convincing him, the sorcerer let him in. They teamed up, Isauro and the sorcerers, coming up with a plan to save Madolika and the others. Since with the exception of the king, Sky and the soldiers of the inner barracks, no one else knew about Isauro's connection with Isabelle but he still had his identity tag as a member of the inner barracks, Isauro was the perfect person to sneak the sorcerers in. They had no other option, it was either they took the risk, or put the lives of Madolika and the other sorcerers at stake.

It was a rainy midnight, when Isauro and the Rhydderc spies snuck into the palace. The Rhydderc spies, their faces concealed by masks, exuded an air of unwavering commitment and a quiet strength that provided a sense of security. With Isauro as a soldier, and the others under a very temporary invisibility spell, Isauro got them to open the entrance to the palace and used his position as a royal guard to get into the dungeon. Isauro, together with the spies, knocked out a few prison guards in secret, changing into the guards' clothes. By now, the invisibility spell had worn off and they ventured deeper to rescue the others. They snuck down into the cells where Madolika and the other captives had been held and killed the soldiers there faster than they could realize. Isauro unlocked the door to Madolika's cell and found her lying on the bed of hay, weakened and afraid. The Rhydderc spies came in, chanting a spell to suppress the incense and chanting the same spell for the others. The spell worked but Madolika still had no strength to move. Realizing Isauro was there, her shut eyes squinted as she tried to find strength to open them. As his arms enveloped her, she found solace. The world outside the dungeon, a distant memory, was suddenly real again but she didn't want to think about that. All she cared about was that she could touch Isauro, she could feel his embrace once more. She felt an overwhelming gratitude for his relentless efforts to find her, to rescue her from the abyss. His determination and love, which knew no bounds had rescued her. She was proud of him, of being the one he fell in love with. Isauro's smile was different this time, it held a thousand hopes and dreams, a thousand promises of an endless love. Isauro carried Madolika in his arms.

The Rhydderc spies carried the other sorcerers on their backs as they made their way out of the dungeon. On their way out, they heard a loud cry of a woman. Isauro knew that voice all too well, it was "Isabelle" Madolika and Isauro said simultaneously. "She must be in labor" Madolika said. Isauro looked back, at the staircase that led down. "We have to hurry" One Rhydderc spy whispered as the shouting continued but as they were about to leave, Madolika sensed a lot of people were heading in their direction so they all rushed back into the cells, with the Rhydderc spies and Isauro, disguised as the prison guards. Sky ran past them, with a group of soldiers and went down the stairs.

As the contractions continued, Isabelle focused on the thought of holding her baby for the first time, feeling the warmth of that tiny, fragile life against her chest. It was the thought of that moment that kept her going, that pushed her to endure the pain. As Madolika was recovering in her cell, she heard Isabelle's screams in her head. "I can't lose my baby, I can't" Madolika heard Isabelle's thoughts. "Isabelle? Isabelle" Madolika called out but Isabelle couldn't hear her. "Isabelle, you'll make it, don't worry" Madolika heard Sky say. It was as if she was in the room with them, but how? Suddenly, Madolika realized, it was the child's thoughts, but the child didn't have thoughts yet, so she was hearing what the unborn child heard.

Madolika opened her spellbook and found a spell to help Isabelle gain more strength, but it was risky and if she failed, it would backfire on her. She took a few breaths and began the spell, whispering the words of her spell. As Isabelle was in labor, she realized the child wouldn't make it. She rubbed the black emerald so many times but nothing happened. She had starved herself for weeks before the delivery, after discovering the food being given to her was slowly killing them both, making her weaker and weaker as the months passed so she wouldn't be able to deliver safely, which was the king's plan. She depended on the emerald for energy but out of frustration, she had torn it by accident the day before and the emeralds turned black. She fell on her knees and tried to reconnect them but she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't reconnect. Isabelle tried to stay strong once more, to give her all. She had always been strong, because that was how she was raised, but now, she wasn't sure if she could be.

"Isauro" Madolika called out to him and he came into her cell. "I need some of your energy to help Isabelle" Madolika whispered to Isauro. "Take it" Isauro said without hesitation. Madolika placed her hand on his chest and began the spell again, as Isauro felt his body begin to feel much weaker. After a while, the cries of a baby filled the place. Her tiny, delicate voice echoed through the stone walls, reaching far beyond the confines of the chamber. Hearing the cries, Isauro was overjoyed and hugged Madolika. Madolika brought her wrists together, folded her palms, and said a blessing into the thoughts of the baby. "Thank you so much" Isauro cried. It was a moment of joy until a loud cry from Sky filled the dungeons. "Isabelle!!" Sky shouted.

The pain in her eyes as she looked at him one last time, her grip on his hand slowly weakening, was a memory that would forever haunt Sky. Sky hugged her, and everyone left them alone in the room. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I pro…I promised to protect you but I didn't. I broke our wedding vows" Sky said as tears ran down his cheeks. "You're not the only one Sky…I broke my vows too, I couldn't be there for you when you… when you needed me. Please…please protect our child…Leilani, let that be her name, she loves it too" Isabelle said with a smile as she took her final breaths. "Yes, Leilani will be her name but please, please stay with me" Sky pleaded. "I love you, I always did. I didn't mean to hurt you…" Isabelle stammered and put the flower bracelet they had worn on their wedding day on the baby's arm, as her eyes closed, plunging her into an eternal sleep. "No, Isabelle!! Wake up" Sky wept.

"Isabelle?" Isauro asked Madolika. "I don't know" Madolika responded and Isauro ran back out as footsteps approached. A few guards came with the physicians and Isauro took the ultimate risk, he approached one of them. "Hey, what happened?" Isauro asked. "The maid Isabelle just died" The guard whispered and left. Time stopped, and the room around him faded into a blur. His mind refused to accept the reality of those words. It couldn't be true. His sister, his confidant, his partner in crime, was supposed to be strong and resilient. She had just given birth to her first child, and he had been looking forward to celebrating this new chapter of their lives together. He couldn't believe it, it was a thought that never crossed his mind. His heart felt heavy and it hurt, it hurt much more than he could've imagined. All the years they had been together, all the memories they had…he couldn't shed a tear, and couldn't scream out here, there was nothing he could do. "Isabelle…" Isauro whispered softly as he leaned on the rods of the cell, still in denial. "Let's leave now, your highness. It's now or never, before the suppression spell wears off" One of the Rhydderc spies said. Madolika looked at Isauro outside and back at the spies. Madolika came out to where Isauro was, pulling him up, having no idea about what he had heard. "Isauro, you need to stay strong, we need to leave now before anyone else comes" Madolika said. "Isabelle is dead…she's gone" Isauro cried. Tears run down Madolika's cheeks as she placed her hand over Isauro's eyes and put her forehead on his. "Forget it all. It'll hurt much less this way" Madolika said, hypnotizing him. She took her hands off and he looked up at her, with no memories of who he was and where he was. His eyes met Madolika's teary eyes. "Get up and do what you must" Madolika said to him, her tears flowing like a river.

They got to the entrance of the cave, which Isauro had told them about earlier. As they got to the entrance, they each cast a spell on a herb and put the herb in their mouths, a herb that would prevent them from feeling any emotions as long as it remained in their mouths. This was risky, because they would regain their emotions and might fall victim to the curse if the herb fell. "Remember, anyone who falls under the curse will be killed" one spy said and turned to Madolika and Isauro. "Don't worry, the both of you are safe. The curse can't work on you, your highness, and he has no memories, so he has no fears" the spy said to Madolika and they went in. As she walked through the cave, her tears fell into the pool of water below them, as the thought of her family resting there stirred up old memories. When the first spy got out, he ran into a guard on patrol and killed him. When the others got out and they left, they ran into another guard and one spy killed him, however, there was another guard who spotted him and sounded an alarm and before long, they had a dozen soldiers chasing after them. As they were running, one spy casted a spell to make a tree fall to block the guards. "Sorcerers!" The guards shouted, calling for reinforcement. When they got to the city gates, they were met with a rain of arrows, having to turn around. They made their way into the forest.

They had rested for a while but the sun was beginning to set, and the soldiers were beginning to catch up. "Your highness, take the lead to a higher ground, we'll follow to make sure they don't catch up to us" one spy said. Madolika ran with Isauro towards a hill. A vengeful Sky and his soldiers charged against the Rhydderc spies and Sky watched in shock as the Rhydderc spies used the same fighting techniques that had been taught to him by Sir. Hansley. He watched as within seconds, his men fell to the ground. He raised his hand and extended his arm forward, with his palm down, and then made a swift, upward motion with his hand. The action signaled the archers to draw their bowstrings and prepare to nock their poisoned arrows. The prince lowered his hand from the drawn position, and with a quick, decisive movement, he made a chopping motion, palm facing the archers, as they rained arrows on the spies. It was a battle needed to be fought, as Sky's sword met with that of one of the spies. In the heat of the intense battle, Sky realized the Rhydderc spy had much more power in his attacks. As the fight continued, the spy was attacked from behind, an arrow piercing his chest. As the spy fell, he held onto Sky's attire, dragging Sky to the ground. "Sir. Hansley was one of us, he wanted to show you…the world…we...could…" The spy uttered as his life slipped away. In denial, Sky pushed him away, unable to believe what he had just heard.

As they were running, Madolika tripped and fell back down the hill, so they had to ran back up to the top, where the protective spell over the palace area which had lasted for centuries, to inhibit the power to teleport in or out of the palace, for security, would not reach. As they were climbing, Madolika's arm got shot with an arrow, and out of the woods came Sky, with his elite soldiers. Seeing this, Isauro ran to Madolika's rescue, although he didn't love her anymore. He just did it because he was fond of her. He pulled Madolika behind him and took out his sword to fend off the arrows, but although his body remembered the mysterious skills he had gained before losing his memories, he had forgotten how to properly use it without draining his energy and before long, he began to weaken. "Stop!" Sky shouted as he saw Isauro, unable to believe his eyes. Overwhelmed with emotions, Sky gave Isauro a chance to surrender but Isauro didn't. Before Sky was able to say anything more, an arrow hit Isauro in the chest as William's soldiers came into view. "Leave!" Isauro cried out to Madolika as he fell onto his knees. "No!! Isauro" Madolika called out before a storm engulfed the place. Madolika let out a scream, and dark clouds gathered over the hilltop, with strong winds blowing in their direction. Her eyes ignited with blue flames as, fear, like a spear, drove through the hearts of the armed soldiers who stood before her but out of nowhere, an old man appeared and held Madolika, and then they both disappeared. It all happened so quickly.

Madolika was back in the sorcerers' hideout, a place she didn't want to be. She left for Isauro's house, to see his mother. When she got back, Isauro's mother wasn't home so she went into Isauro's room. As she stepped into the room that once held the warmth of his presence, a shiver ran down her spine. The walls, which once bore witness to their laughter and whispered promises, now stood in silence, echoing the ache in her heart. The door screeched as Kakra walked into the house, drawing Madolika's attention. Suddenly, the door to Isauro's room flung open as Kakra walked in, enraged. "You murderer, you killed my son and daughter!" Kakra cried as she swung a stick at Madolika, who's reflexes were sharp enough to catch the stick before it hit her. "No! I didn't" Madolika cried, but the mother didn't listen and tried to hit Madolika again. This time, they ended up fighting over the stick and accidentally, Madolika pushed Kakra down the stairs, a fall that Kakra did not survive. "No…no…I didn't, no I didn't…" Madolika cried, as she looked down at Kakra. "No, I'm not here…I'm not, I'm home, at home, back where it all started" Madolika cried as she panicked. All of a sudden, she was once again in the cave, sitting on her bed, where it all began since she woke up. Madolika coiled herself on the bed and cried. "I did this, I am the reason they all died, I did it…I wish I could reverse the time. I wish I never woke up," Madolika said, falling deeper into the hole of depression. Once again, Madolika was asleep in the cave but this time, she fell into a slumber by herself, trapped in her fears, pain and loneliness.