This is my first story, so please feel free to leave a review with suggestions on how to improve.

A big thank you to SkyiesTheLimit for helping to proofread this.

Rayfa woke up from her slumber feeling hungry. Very, very hungry. The emptiness in her stomach was a major problem that needed to be remedied.

"Mother, what are we going to be having for breakfast."

No response.

"Mother?"

"Oh my, how quickly you've moved on to a new mother."

That voice. No, it can't be. She should be in prison. I personally testified against her at her trial. Did she escape somehow? Do I dare ask?

"Ga'ran? What are you doing here? How did you escape from prison?" Rayfa angrily demanded.

"Were you really foolish enough to think that you could somehow erase me from your life, Your Benevolence?"

Rayfa was speechless. She was unprepared to deal with this situation.

"Pitiful little girl. I shall have dominion over you for the rest of your life. You will rule the kingdom just like I have."

"No I won't!" Rayfa announced. "This kingdom has endured far too much under your tyranny. The high priest and his wife, Mr. Are'bal, my true mother Amara and my true father Dhurke, Braid Head...they've all suffered so much because of you!"

"Ho ho ho. Is that what you think, Your Benevolence? I'm afraid you're mistaken." Ga'ran coldly replied.

"How so?" Rayfa asked.

"The one who caused all their suffering...WAS YOU!"

"What? No, that can't be true."

"But it is. Why, look at Her Mercifulness right over there."

Rayfa looked to where her aunt pointed. To her horror, it was indeed Queen Amara. However, something was not right. She looked ill, emaciated, and in deep pain.

"Rayfa..." Amara cried out. "How could you let this happen to me?"

"No. No no no. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Rayfa. Rayfa!"

Rayfa woke up, this time for real. Amara was right beside her bed.

"Rayfa, are you alright? You've been having these nightmares for a while."

"I'm quite alright, mother. Or as Horn Head would say, 'I'm fine!''

"Rayfa, be honest with me. Are your regal duties getting too stressful? Are you worried how you might perform on Ta'lentahn?"

It was custom for the royal couple to show off their performance after everyone else had performed. Since Rayfa was not in a couple, she would be performing with Nahyuta, who was now once again a member of the royal family.

"I suppose so. Mother, I have just one question to ask."

"What is it, my dear?"

"Why was your sister so intent on seeing us suffer? Did she truly loathe us that much?"

Amara felt her stomach drop. She felt a great deal of responsibility for Ga'ran's actions. Her sister had taken advantage of her love and used it to make her family suffer. To make it up to her late husband and children, Amara had joined Nahyuta and Rayfa in testifying against her sister. It pained her personally, but it was necessary for Ga'ran to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Still, they offered to have Apollo serve as the defense, an offer that Ga'ran stubbornly refused.

"It's all my fault, isn't it?, "Rayfa said. "If I hadn't been placed in jeopardy, you and Braid Head could have helped Father to stop her. For the good of Khura'in, you should have just left me to endure whatever fate I was to suffer. I still can't even channel spirits! I really am bound to end up like her."

"Do not speak like that, Rayfa! You are a fine ruler, and you will continue to be one."

"But how will I be able to govern like you and not like her?"

"Do not attempt to govern like other people. Govern the way you believe this kingdom should be governed. If you believe in the people and believe in yourself, then they are sure to believe in you too."

Rayfa had received similar advice in the past from Barbed Head, Miss Fey, and her good friend Horn Head. Still, it was nice for her to get a receive a reminder every once in a while.

She had already done a significant amount as queen. She had abolished the Defense Culpability Act and declared that it shall never be implemented again. She had Amara's Tomb transformed into Dhurke's Tomb to honor his courage and determination in the face of adversity, and made it open to the public. The royal family, as well as Apollo, Datz, and Beh'leeb, visited it frequently. The paintings that once depicted him as a devil now showed him as a valiant hero standing up to an evil arachnid. She also made Dhurke Day a national holiday, and had the Plumed Punisher put back on air: this time with Ga'ran and not Dhurke as the villain. Whenever Amara channeled Dhurke though, she would become flustered and address him as "Dragon Head". Still, he told her that she was doing a good job restoring fairness to the kingdom's legal system, and was happy to call her his daughter.

"I suppose you're right, Mother."

"Come now, let us go eat our breakfast. We are having pahn'kikus."

"Yes, let's. I am starving! If only you hadn't spent so much time talking, ya ol' nincompoop!" Rayfa joked.

Rayfa still had doubts in her mind. However, she couldn't allow Barbed Head and Miss Fey to see her like this upon their return. Before their arrival, she was going to come with Braid Head so they could visit Horn Head, Ahlbi, and Mr. Are'bal at Justice Law Offices. Perhaps talking with them would help ease some of her anxieties.