The stars twinkle as the light of the moon shone above the glistening castle of Madara.
Maria looked at the rose Hans gave her with a smile. It was beautiful, "He was right... It does match my eyes."
"Aww... How sweet, she's got an admirer." Elise's bitterness could be heard through her teeth.
"Oh shut up... I think it's a sweet gesture... Though I've received a lot of these during my time in the Orient." Maria smiled.
"So what if you have, he couldn't even afford giving you a bouquet." Elise pointed out.
"He might not be able to buy me a bouquet, but this one rose is enough." Maria continued.
"Pft- Many boys in the Orient give you toys, bouquets and more. Why settle for him?!" Elise told Maria as she sighed in her cage.
"It's a sweet gesture... Even though I'm an enemy, he is still hospitable towards me..."
Elise snickered at Maria's statement for it was really pathetic and childish in her opinion.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing..." Elise tried wiping the smile on her face.
"Oh goodness..." Maria frowned.
The evening breeze flew by her as she closed her eyes. It felt refreshing and it was nothing like the east. She was a bit tired so she went back to their room. When she opened the door with the rose on her hand, Hans was looking at the ceiling while Eric was sleeping beside him.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Maria asked in a concerning tone as she closed the door.
"I can't seem to sleep..." Hans replied as he closed his eyes.
"I believe it's-" Maria was cut off by the bells chiming on the strike of midnight.
"Midnight." Hand and Maria said in chorus.
"So you have midnight chimes in your place..." Hans said as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Oh... You mean the twilight harmony." Maria smiled.
"You call it that in the east?" Hans slowly sat down on his mattress.
"Uhuh..." Maria smiled at the young boy.
"I see you kept the rose..." Hans yawned. He was too tired to even react to this, but it was a sweet gesture.
"U-uh... Ye-yes..." Maria blushed. She thought of it for the whole time that she was wandering in the courtyard.
"I'm glad you did." Hans lied down again then as he closed his eyes, he yawned. Not long, he was asleep.
Maria smiled at Hans as she looked at the rose, then softly she said, "Good night to you too Sir Hans."
While the midnight chimes were heard in all corners of the kingdom, Cedric arrives outside the boundary wall of Madara.
He knew that his blue eyes and purple outfit would stick out from the crowd so he wore his yellow coat along with his gold contact lenses. He looked a bit recognizable yet anonymous enough to stay hidden.
The gates open for him as he claims to be a merchant from the north. He fooled the guards with his fake accent and posture. He headed straight to an inn where he got a good night's sleep just after the chimes finished.
Maria was near to sleeping until she felt something... It was something that she's been longing for days.
"Wanna check it out?" Elise asked as she lied in her cage.
"Can you check it out?" Maria replied.
"Sure... But you need to chant cause I can't cast in this state." Elise explained.
As Maria continued to lay down on the bed with her eyes closed, she chanted a spell of summoning shadows.
"I casted this before..." Maria thought.
"I unleashed them in hopes of getting out of this wretched cage." Elise sighed.
The shadows bowed before spectating the whole kingdom where they saw Cedric in an inn by the walls of Madara.
"How sweet... Your brother loves you dear." Elise rolled her eyes.
Maria was crying until she fell asleep unconsciously. Elise slept with a heavy heart for she was really tired.
The shadows retreated after the search then Maria was a bit in peace.
In the morning, Cedric overslept until the late morning. The people were flocking in the plaza and the three royals were there.
"What's going on?" A man asked his fellow citizen.
"I heard a public execution is happening." A woman whispered.
Cedric opened the windows of his room to see people running and being noisy. As he got closer to the plaza while wearing his robe, he saw the queen, the king and Princess Sandra on an elevated platform.
The king squeezed through the crowd to the front just to see a guillotine.
"Listen up!" The queen announced. "Three days have past and the king of The Orient hasn't replied to our letter of peace. We have the princess in our hands and you all know what we do to the likes of her."
"Any last words Princess Venice?" The king asked as the executioner locked the young princess's head on the lunette.
The young princess smiled before saying, "Off with my head then..."
Cedric was in front of the guillotine and tears were falling down from his face. Right before the rope was released, he yelled, "Halt this execution!"
The king, along with his queen and their eldest daughter, Sandra, looked at him with indifference. They could care less of what he would say.
"Or what? You are nothing but a villager, or a merchant at best." The king looked down on the king.
"Because I come here from the east!" Cedric took off his contact lenses to reveal his glowing dark blue eyes. He was crying but he couldn't help it.
"Ooh... How amazing." The queen mocked.
Sandra was surprisingly silent during all of this. Cedric couldn't move that much since he was alone and outnumbered.
"So what are you going to do?" The king asked.
"I'm going to make peace with you. Right here... Right now..." Cedric lowered his head.
While the shenanigans was taking place, Sarah was standing outside the flock of people watching with Eric.
"Where's Hans?" Eric asked.
"He might get here soon." Sarah replied as she petted her doll who was dressed up like her sister.
"Sandra is oddly silent..." Eric pointed out.
"That's how silent I want her to be." Sarah smirked.
Eric woke up from his slumber to see thatt both Eric and Maria weren't in the castle. He runs towards the plaza because he knows what was about to happen next.
"Why only three days later?" The queen asked.
"We actually thought you'd just abandon your sister." The king laughed. He sat down on the platform to reach Cedric, he flicked a finger at his fellow king's forehead which made Cedric annoyed.
Cedric took his knife out and was about to attack when the princess locked into the guillotine finally spoke with a smile on her face, "Sweet brother mine, I adore your efforts... You have a kingdom to lead... I'll be here, just call me..."
Eric arrived just after the rope was released and the young princess was executed. Cedric fell down on the ground as tears fell down from his eyes. His heart skipped a beat upon seeing his sister, dead.
"Paris!!" Cedric yelled. "No... No... No... Paris..."
Eric felt himself tremble, then he fell on his knees. He was also crying so much, like the eastern king.
"Venice!" Eric called. "Ve... Nice... V-Venice... This can't be!"
Eric stood up then he pushed through the crowd when he arrived beside Cedric, the eastern king looked at him with concern and confusion.
"No!" Eric yelled. He was about to charge into the crowd to comfort his friend but Sarah stopped him.
"Listen... Princess Venice... Never died."