The cracks of light coming between the closet slats are thin, barely enough to show anything. But Iris holds her breath as best as she can, her heart hammering in her chest.

On the other side, something enters the room and disrupts the light around her waist and feet. She bites her lip to keep a whimper from escaping, terrified of what'll happen if she makes any noise at all.

Soft clicks are accompanied by the slow patting of heavy footsteps, something soft and big. The thing, whatever it is, comes closer to the closet. She can hear sniffing now.

Aunt Ellen's scream had alerted her of the beast in the house, and even now she can smell the sharp tang of blood and hear it dripping slowly from the creature's mouth onto her floor.

She feels a puff of air over her ankles. There's a low growl.

Was this it? Was this the end? Was she about to be attacked by something in her closet?

Just as suddenly as the creature had come in, it flashes out of existence. There's a pop of noise that causes her ears to ring painfully, so loud that she collapses in the closet.

Her hand gets cut on something and she gasps for air, vision swimming. The closet door opens and a figure, impossibly bigger than her, stands there.

Tears well up in her eyes as its arms encircle her, as the whispering begins.

Iris passes out.

When she wakes up, it's to a soft, hazy light filtering in through massive billowing curtains. She's laying on something soft and still wearing her sleep clothes from the night before, the shorts and the loose hoodie she'd stolen from her best friend. The world was a blur for a few minutes until her eyes focused, and nothing made sense.

"Where… where am I?" She whispers to herself, sitting up.

Her head ached and her skin itched from sweating and not getting clean, but she can't remember…

Her eyes widened. Aunt Ellen! The closet! What had happened when the figure grabbed her?

She looks around where she's laying and finds that she's on a bed far bigger than her one back home. There's something folded at the end of the bed, and when she crawls over to it she finds… a dress?

Iris sat back on knees, frowning. Something was seriously off here.

It was a red dress, she found when she inspected it. Backless, with ribbons to tie at the top and the bottom. It looked like it'd fit her, if maybe a bit loose around the shoulders and a bit short.

What was going on?

A note fell from the dress while she was inspecting it, and she blinked when she found it scrawled in the language Aunt Ellen had taught her growing up, the one that she'd realized along the way wasn't quite like any other. It wasn't like anything she'd ever heard before, but here it was, perfectly transcribed in that little secret just-between-them language.

'Something for the Princess – Meet me downstairs. Bottom of the stairs. Second left.'

She furrowed her eyebrows at it. Princess?

Iris swallowed. This was really weird.

She pulls the dress on over the shorts and carries the hoodie with her, pulling her hair over one shoulder so it doesn't get in the way of tying the ribbons. There's a staircase at the end of a long hallway, and the room where she'd been sleeping is the direct end of it.

She pauses at the top of the stairs and pinches herself. Ouch, not a dream.

The stairs are beautiful and cold, a bit slippery under her toes but not unbearably so. She wishes she were wearing something on her feet, but she hadn't gone to bed with them and she definitely hadn't been kidnapped with them.

Was- was this a kidnapping?

Stuff like this didn't happen to her.

She was an adopted kid in Sunny Bay, California. She grew up with her Aunt Ellen bouncing between apartments until Nate's family took them in, and then they helped Aunt Ellen get a place of her own. She worked at the bookstore on Beach Street and tied her hair back with ribbons so they wouldn't get in her way, and she flirted with cute people in the bookstore by slipping her number between pages of books if she thought they were interested. Her name was Iris Bay, and she wasn't the type of person who was interesting enough to get kidnapped.

The bottom of the stairs fast approached. Her heart was in her throat.

What would happen if she went the opposite direction? Would whoever was holding her notice if she left? Would she be killed? What was going to happen to her?

Then something.. amazing met her nostrils. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was enough to pull her to the bottom of the steps.

"You're awake!" A soft voice chirped excitedly.

Iris blinked in confusion.

There was a girl standing there, a smile on her face, long black hair pulled into a low bun. She had a loose strand hanging in her face, and for a moment Iris couldn't help but wonder if she hated having the hair in her eyes or not.

"I… am." Iris glanced at the paper in her hands, then back at the girl. "Did you write this? Are you who I'm supposed to meet?"

"Nope, he's in the dining room." The girl offered an arm. "Come on, I'll walk you there!"

This was bizarre.

The girl was wearing a short white jacket and a flowing green dress, but she looked relatively harmless. Iris took her arm, holding on perhaps a bit too tightly. What could she say, she was scared.

"So who are you? Why am I here?" Iris asked.

"I can't tell you why you're here, but I will tell you who I am." The girl turns to offer a smile. "Lyna Aventura, Princess of Borealis. I'm your cousin."

Iris's eyes widened. A princess? A cousin?

"Wait, like, by blood?" Iris glanced her over. She supposed that she were a bit lighter than the other girl, but they had the same nose. And the curve of the other girl's jaw was so similar… and the way that her hair pulled back into the bun… It was just like her own.

"My uncle is your dad, so, I'd say yes." Lyna patted her hand. "I know it's your first time on Ephedia since you were little, so it totally makes sense that you're confused. But you're home now! And everyone is so excited to have you back."

Iris didn't know what was going on, but everything was starting to become too much.

"Do you know what happened to my Aunt?" A long shot, but she had to try.

The girl pauses in front of the doorway to the dining room, where they were supposed to go, and blinks at her. "Your Aunt? You don't have any Aunts."

Iris sighed. "Thanks anyways."

The doors to the dining room opened on their own, a chill going down Iris' spine. She shivers, unbidden, and lets Lyna lead her inside.

There's a magnificent table, huge and long. Two benches on either side and a throne at one end, the end farthest from them empty. There were impossibly tall paintings on the walls, shimmering and disappearing into the ceiling where she couldn't see them anymore. The far wall is covered in an enormous glass wall, the colored panes depicting a map of some sort, foreign and confusing and unlike anything she'd ever seen.

Sitting at the table, from what she can tell, is two red-haired lookalikes on one side, murmuring to each other softly and not looking at her. There was someone in the chair but she couldn't tell who it was.

Beyond that? The table was empty.

There were two places set on the other side of the table, and that was where Lyna led her. She pushed Iris gently into the seat closest to the throne and took the seat on the other side.

Iris was boxed in. She felt something clawing up her throat.

The figure in the chair leans forward.

Iris' breath hitches.

It was a man, a sharp jaw with scars like clawmarks gouged deep into his skin, swirling rhythmically in circular patterns. The marks were ugly, but almost beautiful in an odd way, echoing down his throat and disappearing into his collar.

He was wearing a coat with a thick fur collar, dark but swirled through with something lighter, something reddish, almost pink in tone. Under that he had a well-tailored suit like what you'd see in a movie, every inch of it covered in embroidered patterns.

His eyes were a dark, stormy blue, like how hers got when her mood plummeted and the world felt like it was going to end.

His lips had the same curve as her own.

His hair was pink, but somehow it, too, felt familiar. Long and pulled into a low ponytail by a maroon ribbon, the silk laying across the fur like a track through mud.

"My child," he breathes out warmly, a smile coming to his face like a shark grinning. Her breath hitched. "It's been a long time."

Iris pulled the hoodie closer to herself. "Are you the one who kidnapped me?"

He blinked at her, cocking his head to the side. "Kidnapped? No, no, you misunderstand. I was rescuing you."

Something was wrong with that sentence.

She didn't know what.

"I wasn't in any danger." She whispered.

"No, maybe not right then." He reaches across the table and picks up a goblet- an honest-to-god goblet, encrusted with jewels and all- and holds it up for a sip. "But you were in danger of never knowing the truth. Never knowing your history. Never knowing how special you were."

"How special I am?" Iris glanced over the lookalikes on the other side of the table, seeing how the girl flipped her hair back, seeing how the boy smiled with something dangerous just beneath. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The woman who raised you was a liar and a thief." The man set the goblet down. "Your mother gave you to her in a foolish moment of attempting to secure the throne for herself, and dear Ellira, bless her heart, listened. She took you to that Melzor-forsaken land and raised you, never letting you know your heritage or how important you are."

Iris swallowed. That was a lot of information and none of it made any sense. "What are you talking about?"

"I am your uncle, Izabela, and you are the heiress to the throne." He smiled. "My name is Naveen, and I have been waiting to meet you for a very, very long time."

Her blood chilled.

"I don't go by that anymore…" She whispered.

"It is your name. Your mother was so proud of you, oh." Naveen smiled, shaking his head. "She'd hold you close to her, call you her adorable baby. But my little sister was selfish, and she always wanted what I had." He leaned close to her. "You can touch them, if you like."

Iris pulled her hoodie closer to her. "What are you talking about?"

"The scars. You can touch them, I'm sure you want to."

Iris didn't want to admit that she did. She kept her hands to herself.

Naveen leaned back into his seat. "Alright, that's fine with me. I've been looking for you for a long time, so take your time to adjust. It's a lot, I'm sure, to realize so suddenly that you're a princess."

She glanced between the other three at the table.

"What do you mean, princess?"

"You're the heir to the throne. I am the King, and you are my niece, so you are a princess."

Iris swallowed.

"Okay, this is ridiculous." She shook her head. "I'm not a princess, and I don't know what's going on. This is nuts! What happened to my Aunt Ellen, and where is she, and where am I?"

Naveen sighed. "You are a princess, but I understand if it is hard to adjust to the information. Your Aunt is fine-"

"I want to see her." Iris dug her nails into Nate's hoodie. "I want to see my friends."

"That'll be hard." Lyna rolled her eyes, poking a piece of meat on her plate with her fork.

Iris stared at the girl suddenly. "Why?"

"You're not on Earth anymore." Lyna shrugged, glancing at Naveen then looking back at Iris. "You're on Ephedia."

"Wait- what are you- do you mean to tell me Ephedia is, what, a country?"

"A planet, stupid." The girl across the table pipes up.

Iris was starting to feel light headed again.

"I'm… What…" Iris stood up. She suddenly felt like clawing her way out of her skin, jittery and scared.

"Izabela, please, sit down. It's alright." Naveen's voice was soft, so soft. Pleading.

Iris backed away from the table. "No, no it's not. You're all crazy, and I need to get out of here!"

She turned and started heading for the door. She wasn't sure where she'd go when she got there, but she was sure she could find her way out.

"Iris."

She froze, hand coming up to brace herself on the doorframe. That voice… where did she know it?

"That's what you go by, right?"

She turns, and sees that the boy with the red hair was standing, looking at her.

Iris looked him over. "Yeah, why?"

"Stay. Hear him out." He flashed a smile at her and gestured at the seat. "I know you're hungry."

To prove his point, her stomach growled. She hugged her hoodie tighter to herself.

"Why should I?"

"Because he's your family. Lyna too, right?" He glances at the other girl, who nodded. "I don't know much about this Earth you grew up on, but here you've got family. Here you've got a lot to learn about your past, and yourself."

She swallowed. "You're still all crazy. Why should I?"

"Try something for me," He crossed his arms. "Sing."

Her cheeks flushed.

"What? No, I don't sing. Why?"

"Sing, and you'll understand why he's not lying and why you need to stay."

How did he know about that?

Iris shook her head and backed into the door. "No. I don't sing for a reason, it's better for everyone if I don't. It's safer."

The boy moved out of his seat and started to walk towards her. He stopped a fair bit back, not crowding her.

"What if I said we could teach you to control it?"

She looked him over.

Back at the table, Lyna was perking up and the redheaded girl was raising her eyebrows, watching closely.

Iris took a deep breath. "What if I said I didn't believe you?"

"You're a princess with magic powers that escapes when you sing." He said flatly. "And we can help you control them."

That would explain a lot, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. It didn't mean that it was true.

"Why should I believe you?" She whispered, then coughed. "Why should I believe any of you?"

He held out his hand and a glowing circle appeared over it, floating. "Because we can do the same thing."

Iris relented and let them explain everything.

Ephedia, her parents, Gramorr's rebellion.

When they finished, she swallowed. "Who's Gramorr?"

"My fiancé." Naveen replied smoothly.

She stared at him. "What?"

"He led the rebellion to avenge what he thought was my death. In reality, though, I had just transformed my shape to regain my strength. I was furious with what he'd done in my name, so when I came back into myself I killed him and took my realm back."

Iris glanced around the room. "You killed your fiancé to take your crown back?"

"He wasn't the man I'd once fallen in love with, my child." Naveen reached over and patted her hand gently. His palms were covered in the same swirling scars, which he'd explained were part of her mother's attempt at fratricide. Or was it regicide? She couldn't tell.

She glanced at her plate, almost empty. The food had been amazing, sweet and savory and heavy on her tongue. She felt so full.

"And where's my mother?"

"She's in the dungeons. I was more concerned with finding you than pulling her out, especially considering the… last time she and I met." He offered a smile. "But if you'd like to visit her, I'd be more than happy to go with you."

Iris pulled back. The hoodie was next to her on the bench, and she reached down to rub the soft fabric between her fingers. "I think I need some time to take all of this in."

"I understand completely." Naveen nods. "Would you like to talk more of it over at dinner?"

Iris nodded. It still felt too soon, but she was alright atleast promising to talk.

What had she gotten herself into here?

"Mephisto, Praxina." Naveen nods at them. "Lyna. They can help you with anything you need. Praxina and her brother are my most promising students, and Lyna came to me a few years ago."

Lyna nodded at him, but somehow the gesture felt off. Iris glanced at the other two.

"Mephisto, Praxina, Lyna, could you three excuse us for a moment? I'd like just a moment alone with Izabela."

Iris still didn't like that he insisted on calling her that.

The other three got up, Lyna letting a hand drift over her shoulders reassuringly as she leaves.

Iris swallowed and listened to their retreating footsteps, then the sound of the door closing. She glanced at her uncle.

"I understand that it is a lot." He offered her a hand, looking morosely at the goblet. "For so long you have been lied to and kept hidden. I'm sure your aunt, dear Ellira, she thought she was keeping you safe. And perhaps she was, I don't know what my love would have done had he found you…"

Iris settled her hand in his, and she couldn't help but stare at the scars.

"I'm not your enemy, my child." He whispers, turning to look at her. "There are many in the world who would like to hurt you, see you burn just for who you are. I am the only one who understands, the only one who can protect you."

Her heart leapt to her throat.

"What are you talking about?"

"You and I are the last non-disgraced Halphas." He squeezes her hand gently. He pronounced the word like hal-faz, something she didn't really know but… she'd heard it once before.

"Your mother, bless her heart, has lost the title to her treason." He turns to her. "And our parents, your grandparents, died when she was young. I'm sorry that you had to come home to such unrest, but that's how it is…"

Iris shook her head. "It's fine. All I've ever had was Aunt Ellen… and Nathaniel."

"Nathaniel?"

"My best friend, he's like a brother to me. If it weren't for him Aunt Ellen would still be struggling and we still would be apartment hopping." She has trouble shifting out of the present tense on that, everything that'd happened still felt like a bizarre dream.

Naveen's eyes sparkled. "I'm glad you had someone. I'm sorry you cannot keep him here, but I'm sure you understand… an alien here would be looked at like a pet, and that's not a way to treat a brother at all. Maybe in time, when you have control of your powers and it's safer, you can go visit him. Explain everything, tell him the truth."

Iris' throat tightened at the idea of being unable to see him for so long, but she couldn't deny that the idea of getting to tell him everything sounded amazing. "Alright."

"For now, really, talk to the three. The twins are very skilled with magic, and Lyna is absolutely brilliant. They've brought a certain life into the castle that I couldn't have imagined, and with you here I feel that finally the world can seem complete again."

Iris couldn't deny that it sounded nice. She nodded. "What about Aunt Ellen?"

"Ellira? We can send someone for her in time." He patted her hand. "For now, focus on getting that powerful voice of yours under control. Focus on learning who you are."

Iris bit her lip.

"Do you want to ask something?"

She glanced at him. "Why now? I'm nineteen, it's… it's not exactly like this is a good time. It's not like I'm ready for the world to get changed suddenly. When I was little I would pretend I was a princess of some far off country, that my parents would come and whisk me off and I'd get to wear pretty dresses and feel like I was important… but those dreams died and that time has passed. I'm not that little girl anymore."

"I wish I could have met her." Naveen's voice is soft, so soft. Iris found his eyes and looked into them, so familiar and close to home.

"I wish that things could have gone differently, that you didn't have to have your whole world upturned. It took me a long time to find you and a long time to save you, and longer to save the world from my old love." He lifted her hand and brushed his lips over the back of it, eyes on hers. Somehow she could tell that he was trying to be affectionate but not creepy, but the gesture still sent chills down her spine. "I'm still recovering, myself, Izabela."

"Iris." She finally corrected.

"Why don't you go by your birth name?"

"It's not… me. Nate called me Iris. Everybody did. It's what I like. I mean, I sometimes still go by Izzy but… Never Izabela."

Naveen nodded slowly. "I see. You don't like it?"

She thought about it for a second before slowly shaking her head.

He smiled.

"I'm proud. My sister would be furious."

Iris didn't know how to feel about that.