//------------------------------// // The Queen Rises // Story: Tales of Apple Scratch: The rise of the Queen // by Mariacheat-Brony //------------------------------// The morning of Mi Amore Cadenza’s eighteenth birthday, Seven years and a quarter before the Canterlot Wedding, … The three children of the Mi Amore household were gathered around an extremely long table, which was necessary for the extremely copious breakfast that was laid out for all three of them.The youngest of them, Crescendo was happily filling his stomach almost without any care for protocol and table manners while the middle child, and birthday-girl, had been lifelessly poking at her food without actually eating it. “You should eat, Cadenza,’’ the older brother, Bolero, said while Bastante, their father’s steward, had just come back in the room and witnessed the poor manners displayed by Crescendo. “Unless you also want Bastante on your back as well,” he added playfully as his younger brother was suddenly interrupted by a disapproving cough and a poke on his shoulder. ‘’Hmmm,’’ Cadence replied in an even mumble as she watched the yellow of her eggs drip along her fork and into her plate. ‘’Come on! Don’t be such sour puss,’’ Bolero advised with a sigh. “I’ll be a sour puss if I want to be one,” Cadence weakly retorted, her eyes focused on her fork which was now playing with the whites of her eggs. “Look, I can understand that you’re still mad because Mother couldn’t invite your Canterlot friends…” “Didn’t invite!” Cadence corrected her older brother angrily. “...But you can always have a party with them once you’re back in Canterlot,” Bolero continued patiently, as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “That depends entirely on Mother finding me a husband by the end of the day or not,” Cadence muttered as she remembered the excitement in her mother’s voice when she had talked to her about all the young bachelors of the nobility invited to the celebrations. “Well, in Mother’s defense, you aren’t in a relationship,” Bolero commented slowly, glancing warily at the steward still watching their younger brother like a hawk. “Or at least that’s what she thinks,” he added in a whisper, barely loud enough for his sister to hear. "How do you know that?" Cadenza whispered back in a threatening tone. "Heard you and Chrysalis trying to discreetly talk about it once or twice," Bolero replied slowly. "You talk louder than you think when you're excited," he added matter-of-factly. "And you haven't told Mother because?" "Because I believe you should tell it to Mother and Father yourself when you feel ready to do so," Bolero stated softly. "Also, don't worry about to tonight, I'll try to keep Mother distracted from the suitors she has lined up for you. You do deserve to have fun on your birthday after all." Cadenza narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the all too sweet, brotherly look Bolero was giving her. "....And what do you want in return for that favor, Brother?" After checking that Bastante was still on Crescendo's case and thus wasn't paying attention to them, Bolero leaned in closer to his sister. "Can you convince Chrysalis to dance with me tonight?" Bolero asked in a softer whisper, his cheeks taking slightly pinker hue. "Hmmmm.... I don't think Mother will approve of that, Bolero," Cadenza commented with a sly grin. "Well, just like you, I'm not looking for Mother's approval in that matter," Bolero retorted, casting a brief wink that prompted a short giggle from Cadenza. "I'll try my best, I can promise you that," Cadenza replied softly before turning her gaze back on her food. "Thank you, Cadenza," Bolero let out with excitement filling his whisper Their exchange had gone unnoticed by the steward and the two siblings decided to leave it at that and began eating the content of their respective plate just like before, with the only difference being that Cadenza seemed in a much better mood than earlier. She was almost done with her breakfast when a servant came by with a massive stack of envelopes stashed on a platter. When the young man carrying the platter informed her that all the letters were addressed to her and that they most likely contained birthday cards and best wishes for her, Cadenza’s mood perked up even better than before. At her older brother’s suggestion, the young princess left what was left of her breakfast aside and retired to her quarters to enjoy her correspondence. An hour of reading later, Cadenza was still happier than this morning, but her happiness was tainted with a little bit of melancholy. Half of the letters she received were from her acquaintances and friends from Canterlot, all of whom hadn’t been invited by her mother, or in Princess Celestia’s case probably couldn’t come even if she actually wanted to. The letter from the High Princess of Equestria had surprised Cadenza quite a bit. When reading through the first sentences of their letters, the young Istalloñan girl first thought it was merely ‘standardized’ letter from a scribe that Celestia had just signed without actually reading it first hand, as it was often a common practice amongst nobility, but as she kept going through it, the letter became more personal as the Sun Princess mentioned that she was awaiting Cadenza’s return to Canterlot as she was beginning to miss their afternoon conversations over a cup of tea. Cadenza could almost hear Celestia sigh in her warm motherly voice as she read her quote on how tea was already a dull beverage to begin with and that her absence had suddenly made it duller than before. There was also the letter that came from Twilight Sparkle who kept writing about all that happened to her and that she wanted to tell her babysitter, stuff like her recent ‘research paper’ on the various types of gems and their magical properties, along with a short paragraph from her parents wishing her a happy birthday and jokingly write that they hope she comes back soon as they ‘need’ an extra pair of arms to handle their genius twelve-year-old of a daughter. While reading a few passages from her letter, Cadenza was certain that Twilight had originally planned on sending her copy of that research paper along with her message. The young princess guessed that her parents had stopped her from doing that. And then, there was Shining’s letter, which she had read at least a dozen times already and probably wouldn’t mind reading again a dozen more times. The young knight was missing her and he had sent her all of his love as well as the more traditional best wishes for her birthday. All those words sent butterflies in her stomach before her heart caught on the fact that her lover couldn’t be there for her birthday because of her mother’s plan to have the young noble gentlemen of Istalloña court her during tonight’s party. Tonight is going to suck, even with Bolero's efforts to distract Mother… Cadenza thought with a long sigh before she carefully stored Shining’s letter, as well as Twilight and Celestia’s, in one of her locked cabinet. Once that was done, the princess began storing her other letters in less safe places, as those didn’t matter as much as the first three, before installing herself at her desk to begin writing her response letters. She had some time ahead before someone, a servant or her mother, would interrupt her to get prepared for the reception. The interruption came during her redaction of her third response, the one aimed to Celestia, in the form of three gentle knocks against her quarters’ door. Slightly puzzled by the fact it was still quite early for her to get ready, Cadenza finished her sentence, dried the ink with a quick spell of her light blue magic and stashed her letters on a corner of her desk before allowing whoever had knocked to come in. ‘’Sorry to bother you, your Highness,’’ a female maid asked as she came inside the room with a couple of other servants in tow. ‘’Your mother has sent us to help you prepare for tonight,’’ she explained softly with a deep bow as Cadenza turned to face her. Cadenza’s eyes widened in shock at sheer size of the clothes chest the maid’s co-workers brought in her room as the maid in question gently closed the door behind them. It was so big that the two servants carrying it could have both fitted in it. The princess more than understood their relieved sigh as their load was gently lowered onto the floor, just next to the much smaller chest at the end of her bed, and didn’t bothered commenting on it. It was expected of the castle’ servants to be as discreet and silent as an ant when performing their appointed tasks, Cadenza reasoned that even if the chest was half as heavy as it looked be, she could close her eyes on that small protocol breach. Even if the maid seemed inclined to expect it, if the dark glare she cast at them was of any indication. “I am surprised you’re here this early,’’ Cadenza casually commented, earning the three maids’ full attention. “The party only starts in the late afternoon after all.’’ ‘’Indeed it does, your Highness,” the first maid agreed with a nod. “But, it is your mother’s instructions that we see to you this early,” she added before waving at the chest. “After all, you have to pick amongst the twenty-five dresses that Princess Cavatina has ordered for your birthday,” “...Twenty-five dresses?” Cadenza slowly asked back, her voice unable to mask the piqued interest that she was feeling. “From Maris’ best designers, your Highness,” one of the two maids that had carried the chest inside gently added. “I believe she organized some sort of contest. The one designer whose dress you pick will have the opportunity to renew all of yours and Princess Cavatina’s wardrobes for the next season.” “Really?!” “That is what we’ve heard, your Highness,” the third maid replied with a quick nod. “Well, in that case, we ought to be really careful in our selection, don’t we?’’ Cadenza asked with a soft grin. “Indeed we do, your Highness,” The first maid replied before inviting the princess closer to the chest with a polite wave. “Shall we begin?” she asked as the other two servants leaned down to open the chest. “We shall!” Cadenza joyfully stated as she took one step forward, a happy smile lighting up her face. On her way to the chest, Cadenza closed her eyes for the time of a blink. While her eyes were closed she felt a brief stinging sensation on her neck. She raised her hand to delicately and discreetly scratch the hitch away. For some reason, she felt a yawn making its way out of her and used the momentum of her hand to make it go higher so that it could mask her open mouth in a ladylike fashion. And then she opened her eyes again and startling confusion filled her head as she let out a soft and shaky ‘what?’. Instead of standing in her quarters, sporting her high quality pink dress, she was sitting in an empty train compartment, clad in a basic, and slightly dirty, cream dress along with a thick, brown, travelling coat on top of her. The princess looked at the window of her compartment, noticing that the sun was beginning to set behind the massive forest that filled the horizon whereas it was close to midday a blink ago. “Wha-what is happening?” Cadenza voiced her thoughts out loud in a panicking tone before she stood up to reach for the door. An instant feeling a drowsiness took over her body, almost making her fall back on her seat. Using the handle of the door as leverage, she steadied herself while massaging her temple with her free hand. Cadenza groaned heavily as she felt like something was trying to break out of her skull with pickaxe. It took her what felt like a minute or two, but in the end, she recovered from the sudden feeling and stepped out of the compartment into the corridor. There, she looked through the window again and could see what stood on the other side of the train. It completely shocked her and froze in place, oblivious to the train attendant that had just entered the wagon she was in. She knew the mountains that stood proudly in front of her eyes, everyone in the continent knew of those mountains. They were drawn in many children’s first books, especially the high peak on the side of which a massive city had been built. She recognized the spiral towers that seemed to reach for the skies; the artificial waterfalls that fell from the sides of the City before magically vanishing in thin air; the pristine white walls that seemed to merged with the mountain itself, as if they have been carved off it centuries ago. Only one city in the whole continent had those features. “Canterlot…” Cadenza whispered in shock just before the train attendant noticed her and asked if she needed anything. A few hours earlier, during the celebration at Mi-Amore Castle, ... Cadenza quietly stood against one of the smallest windows of the ballroom, rudely ignoring any guest that came to talk with her, much to her mother’s displeasure and to her brother and father’s sadness. “What is that girl doing?!” Cavatina nearly growled through her grinding teeth as Duke Di-Corazon of Marecelona approached her moody daughter. “She’s going to cause a scene if that continues!” she added as the Duke bowed to Cadenza who didn’t look away from the window. “Maybe you should have invited some of her Canterlot friends, Mother,” Prince Bolero suggested uneasily with a wince. “That probably would have put her in a better mood,” he said in a hopeful tone. “Those Equestrian peasants do not have their places here, Bolero!” Cavatina retorted angrily, her eyes still on the Duke who was trying to charm Cadenza away from her window. “I can’t be one hundred percent sure, Dear, but I hardly think there are a lot of peasants in Canterlot.” Fortissimo retorted coldly as he scanned through the rest of their guests with a frown. “Of course, they’ve already begun talking…” he added more to himself than anything else as he could see everyone whispering around while throwing occasionally displeased stares at the birthday princess. “Do you want me to bring Cadenza to her room, Father?” Bolero asked softly. “At least until she agrees to try and enjoy the evening?” “This reception is in her honor!” Cavatina angrily remarked. “She’s supposed to stay here or that would be worse for her image!” She added, barely containing her voice to a whisper. “Worse than what she’s doing now?” Bolero asked back while discreetly pointing at the Duke Di-Corazon angrily walking away from the stoic princess. “I don’t think so!” “Bolero’s right, Cavatina,” Fortissimo sighed before stepping towards his daughter. “I’ll go talk to her, you and Bolero try to divert the attention from her.” On his way to Cadenza, Prince Fortissimo heard the band his wife had hired for the evening beginning to play and from the corner of his eye, he spotted Bolero having the first dance of the evening with one of the daughters of the Count of Alicolt. Following his example, many couples joined the dance floor and little by little, all eyes left the lonely, brooding princess whose birthday they were celebrating. When he reached her side, Cadenza slightly turned around to see who had joined her this time. A glint of surprise passed over her features for a second when she recognized her father. “Father,” Cadenza let out in acknowledgement before focusing her attention outside. “Cadenza, can I talk to you for a bit?” Fortissimo asked softly, his hands gently pointing her towards to the door of the ballroom. “Sure,” Cadenza replied casually, not moving from her spot. “I meant in private,” Fortissimo commented slowly. “Thanks to Bolero and Cavatina no one is paying attention to me anymore, Father,” Cadenza retorted evenly. “We can talk here.” “Why?” Fortissimo asked impatiently. “Why do you want to stay here?! What’s so interesting outside?!” “Did you know that from here, you have the perfect view on the courtyard and the stables?” Cadenza asked back casually. “From here you can see all the horses and carriages that brought our guests to this party,” she added as she scanned the now filled courtyard. “Ever since I installed myself at this window, I counted about eighty four carriages arriving on the castle grounds as well as a half a dozen of servants for each carriage,” she paused to quickly glancing at the crowd behind her slightly stunned father. “Adding that our two-hundred guests, that’s more than seven hundred people that came for my birthday.” She paused for a few seconds before continuing in a saddened whisper. “Even if most of them wouldn’t have bothered if I had been someone else than Mi-Amore Cadenza!” “Cadenza…” Fortissimo whispered gently when he heard the sadness in her voice. “Father, why all this?” Cadenza asked softly as she briefly waved at the sumptuous buffet and all the mountain of gifts that her guests had brought. “What did I do to deserve so much effort from the people who basically slave for us?! So much money spent on me for something as anecdotic as a birthday?!” She looked briefly at the guests her mother had invited. “So many suitors lining up before me for the love I will refuse to give them?!” Cadenza sighed and lowered her gaze onto her feet. “Cadenza, you’re my daughter,” Fortissimo said gently. “I’m willing to give you everything I can just because of that,” he explained softly, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Every decent parent wants to spoil their children and would do anything for them.” “You would anything for your children, Father?” Cadenza asked in a cold, even tone as she raised her eyes to meet Fortissimo’s. A great sense of unease washed over the Prince’s whole body as Cadenza focused her light purple eyes on his own. They had always shone brightly with happiness and playfulness, even when she used to pout or frown in sadness or anger it would never reach her eyes somehow. She had always been such a happy child, but now it was different. Her eyes showed none of her usual playfulness, none of her standard upbeat attitude. They were as cold as ice, as overwhelming as a storm, as sharp as a dagger. “Of course, I would,” The prince defended himself in a shaky voice. “Then why didn’t you?” Cadenza asked in a whisper. “W...What?... I have always given Bolero, Crescendo and you everything I could!” he shouted in anger at the accusation, inadvertently bringing a few gazes back on his daughter’s location. “I’ve never played favorite with any of you!” “While that statement is certainly debatable, I wasn’t talking about us three, Father,” Cadenza retorted her cold voice full of disdain. “I was talking about your other children.” Fortissimo’s face lost all its colors when Cadenza let those words out of her mouth loud enough for anyone paying attention to hear. The few soft gasps resonating behind him let the prince know that a few people had indeed heard it. “What are you talking about?” he managed to ask back in a steady tone despite his mind wanting his voice to break down in stutter so that it would match its state. “I only have three childr…” “Nineteen children according to Uncle Legato,” Cadenza corrected him coldly and matter-of-factly. “And considering the circumstances of his confession, I’m inclined to believe him.” As those words flew past her lips, a flash of green washed over his daughter’s eyes, Prince Fortissimo’s were assaulted by an image of his half-naked brother-in-law lying on the ground, next to the bloody body of a maid, a heavy black, spiky boot putting pressure on his broken spine as he let out a bloodcurdling scream of pain that resonated through the prince’s ears. “In addition to the three children you have with Cavatina, there were the fisherman’s daughter’s male twins from Alicolt,” Cadenza began softly. “The three children from the tavern wrench in Marecelona, two boys and one girl; four girls and one boy from various peasants girls from the countryside around Mare-Bella; another set of twins, female this time, from a servant girl that used to work on your aunt’s domain in Trotledo; as well as three boys from three sisters near the border of Prance…. You sure enjoyed the time you had before you were officially married to Cavatina, didn’t you Father?” Cadenza asked before letting out a derogatory chuckle. “Caden…” “Oh, silly me, that only makes eighteen!” Cadenza interrupted him dryly as he uncomfortably shuffled on his feet as more and more guests were slowly turning their attention back at them. “I forgot the last child you had before Bolero!” she stated loudly while unhappily chuckling to herself. “The child that was probably the biggest insult you’ve ever made to Cavatina, whom you were promised to since you were fifteen!” Her eyes and hand began to glow in deep green hue at the same time as Fortissimo’s whole face. Shocked gasps resonated through the ballroom as Fortissimo felt the air around him crushing his head. Out of reflex, he tried to conjure his own Titanian magic to break the spell around his skull, only to fail miserably. The magic that held him prisoner dragged him closer to Cadenza’s face, on which he could only see hate and contempt in her now green eyes. “During your wedding celebration, you drank too much and couldn’t wait for your wedding night to come!” Cadenza told coldly. “You wanted to corner your wife in a supply closet or whatever and convince her to consummate the wedding earlier than planned…” The magic around him pressed harder than before making the prince groan in pain. “Except it wasn’t your wife, wasn’t it?! The one you took into that closet was her younger sister, Farfallina Tessitura! The woman who confessed the affair to her family when she found out she was pregnant with the crown Prince’s child! The woman who, when forced by her parents to keep quiet about her ‘disgraceful mistake’ and to get rid of it , decided to abandon her wealth and family instead.” Cadenza’s blood boiled in righteous fury as she used the same words her late Uncle Legato had quoted from his father, her grand-father, when he told her how her mother chose her over her family. Her ‘cadenza’ voice cracked and took a more adult tone while her hair slowly lost its three cheerful colors in favor of a deep green. Her skin lost his inviting fairness to a deep, brown hue; her all body grew taller, curvier as it abandoned its disguise just before the fancy dress she had chosen transformed itself into a suit of black chitinous armor in a flash of bright green light. “C-Chry-Chrysalis?!” Fortissimo managed to utter in pained shock. “Goodbye, Father!” Chrysalis whispered viciously, her voice full of venom at her last word. “Knowing you wasn’t a pleasure at all!” As soon as she said that, the Swarmlady forced the magic around her father’s head away with all her willpower, ignoring the screams of dolor he was letting out as he felt the skin of his neck rip itself open and the bone upper-spine crack until both broke under the pressure. Leaving his body, Fortissimo’s head was catapulted away from Chrysalis, causing big gushes of blood out of his decapitated body and terrorized and shocked screams from the closest guests. The flying head of the Prince of Istalloña heavily landed on a buffet table, right into one of the many cakes that had been prepared for Cadenza. And just as Chrysalis had planned in her anger, it had landed in a plain view of Cavatina, just a few feet from her. The Princess began trembling in shock at the sight of her husband’s head, her mouth opening repeatedly but without any sounds managing to come out of it. Her legs gave up under her a few seconds later and she remained kneeling on the floor, her eyes never leaving her husband’s dead irises. The closest guests from Cavatina mainly imitated their princess and stared blankly at the head of their ruler, most of them being too shocked to do anything else. The rest of the guests, slowly turned their eyes onto Chrysalis’ armored figured. As for Bolero who had still been holding his dancing position with the shocked young Countess of Alicolt, shock was slowly leaving his handsome features to showcase a hateful glare at the woman who had just killed his father. Slowly, Bolero left the countess’ side and stepped toward Chrysalis, his trembling fists tightening in a rage he had never felt before. A lot of the remaining guests did just like him, some of them reaching for the dress swords, others conjuring sparks of lightnings on their hands as wings flared threateningly open on their backs. The few magically inclined Titanians in the audience also focused their magic into their hands or fingers, their spells ready to fire should it be necessary. As the Prince stepped closer to Chrysalis, the fifty guards that had been stationed across the ballroom quickly formed a loose rank between the nobles and the murderer, their halberds’ heads facing the former right hand of Prince Fortissimo. “Bolero, I strongly advise you to not do what you think of doing,” Chrysalis called softly, completely unfazed by the more than hundred opponents facing her. “You’re not in a position to give me advice, Chrysalis!” Bolero retorted angrily. “If I didn’t want to know your reasons, I would have already ordered the guards to kill you where you stand!” “Because you think they could if you gave that order?” Chrysalis asked back, her voice laced with so much confidence that it made some of the guards and guests uneasy. “You’re cute when you’re clueless like that,” she added in a condescendingly teasing tone. Had she say something like that a few hours before, Bolero’s reaction would have been to sheepishly scratch the back of his head while trying to stop the blush to come to his cheeks, now his reaction was to cast a beam of bright blue light at her chest plate. The closest guards were slightly startled by the sudden beam rapidly travelling between them. The ray of magic hit its target exactly where Bolero had aimed it. The force of the impact threw Chrysalis against the arch separating the two windows she was standing in front of. Her chest plate was strongly dented in where the magic had struck and left the murderer completely out of breath. The sudden, successful attack invoked a brief cheer from the guards and some of the nobles. But then Bolero heard Chrysalis’ mocking chuckle coming from behind him. “Just who exactly are you aiming at, Bolero?” The cheers were immediately replaced by screams of surprised horror as the Chrysalis thrown against the wall was instantly replaced by the noble girl who had been standing behind Bolero a second ago, her chest sporting a massive gaping hole the size of a fist exactly where Bolero's magic had hit Chrysalis. A constant flow of blood poured out of the wound as the girl’s breathing became more ragged and heavy by the second, until it came to full stop and that her body collapsed on the ground. Completely aghast, Prince Bolero slowly turned his head in the direction Chrysalis’ voice had come from. His irises tried to reduce themselves to the size of pinpricks when he saw the black armored woman standing not three feet from him, an expression of pure malice sprayed over her face. “W-what?!” “Wanna take another shot, pretty boy?” Chrysalis taunted with a devilish grin. “You probably should. Don’t want to end up like your father, do you?!” An angry scream later, another beam of blue light burst out of Bolero’s hand and struck Chrysalis straight in between the eyes. Her body fell lifelessly as streams of blood pearled out of the hole Bolero’s magic had caused. The murderer remained still at the Prince’s feet for a few seconds before her body was replaced by the one of a guard bearing the Mi-Amor sigil on his breastplate. His now lifeless eyes staring back at Bolero in an expression of confused exclamation, as if he had seen the Prince not only turn in his direction before shooting him without reason. “Missed!” Chrysalis’ voice called from the buffet. All gazes turned to see her leaning backwards against the table on top of which Fortissimo’s head had landed, one hand bringing a glass of wine to her lips while the other kept her steady. A young girl in the audience let out a lout ‘’The Princess!” as she realized that Cavatina was exactly where she had fallen on her knees, which happened to be just within reach of where Chrysalis had reappeared. “Well, not that it isn’t fun,” Chrysalis let out calmly as she put her empty glass back on the table before walking up to the catatonic Princess. “But I have a small business to attend with Princess Cavatina here!” she added loudly, placing a her hand on an unresponsive shoulder of Cavatina. “Don’t touch her!” Bolero’s voice rang through the room with force, while his bright magic was glowing in his hand. “Bolero, I would love to continue to have our little dance, but as I said, I have something to do with your dear mother,” Chrysalis explained casually as a green magic gathered itself around her free hand. “Don’t worry though, I thought of bringing some entertainment for the party!” she added as the main doors of the ballroom in the same green hue as her hand. With a flick of her hand, the doors were slammed open, revealing a large troop of men and women clad in the same black chitinous armor as Chrysalis, with the sole exception that most of them were also sporting a helmet with a black mask displaying huge, insect-like blue eyes covering their face. Some of the newcomers were still in the middle of executing the last guards alive of the corridor. “Vigil!” Chrysalis shouted at the giant of a man standing with his arms crossed in the middle of the Changeling ranks. “You know what to do!” she reminded before teleporting herself and Cavatina away. Vigil Locust’s eyes scanned the crowd of nobles step away from the doors in terror, some of them actually running away towards the service doors of the ballroom. Then, he focused his deep blue gaze on the angered Prince of Istalloña around whom the guards and the battle-ready nobles had gathered. He uncrossed his arms and took one step forward. That was the signal his and Chrysalis’ changelings had been waiting. They stormed into the room, the more excited of them cheering loudly as half of the nobles broke away in terror and the other half tried to counter charge. And thus, the Battle for Istalloña began. A while later, somewhere in the slums … A full bucket of ice cold water thrown at her face finally brought Princess Cavatina Tessitura out of her catatonic state. The last thing her mind had processed was the head of her husband landing in a cake just next to her, and now she was kneeling in the middle of a dusty, dilapidated room. She raised her hands to chase the pearls of water that blurred her vision, only to see a broken, one person bed next to what was left of a rustic wardrobe. While Cavatina asked herself where she was, she also looked around to see a woman in black armor putting down an empty bucket in the corner of the room. When the woman turned around to face, Cavatina realized who it was and, out of anger and grief, raised her hand to gather enough magic to blast her husband’s murderer into oblivion. But nothing happened. The Princess tried to gather her power once more, but again it didn’t manifest itself. It was worst than weakened as not even a spark of her usually dark blue aura appeared around her hand. It was as if her magic had simply disappeared. Her expression must have shown her turmoil to Chrysalis who silently pointed at her own wrist and neck in response. Cavatina looked closely at her right wrist, finally noticing something under the soaked folds of her sleeve. She pulled the fabric away to reveal a thin, dark metallic band that had been tightly fitted onto her wrist. After a quick examination that proved that her other wrist had been offered the same treatment, Cavatina’s hands flew to her neck, only to feel a tight, metallic collar around it. ‘Lead….’ Cavatina thought with dread as she realized that she was now completely powerless and at Chrysalis’ mercy. “Now that you seem conscious, I guess we can finally have a quick chat,” Chrysalis called in an emotionless tone as she sat in front of the Princess. “Do you know where we are?” “....No, I don’t,” Cavatina whispered her reply after scanning briefly through the ruined bedroom. “Of course, you don’t!” Chrysalis snappily retorted, before waving at their surroundings. “We’re in the house I grew up in. More precisely, in what’s left of my mother’s bedroom. I figured it might be interesting to show it to you….” “Why?” Cavatina asked in shaken confusion. “This is where your sister Farfallina lived the rest of her life, Aun...,” Chrysalis interrupted herself with a pensive frown as Cavatina’s eyes widened at the news. “I’m confused, should I call you Aunt or Step-Mother? You know, since you’re my mother’s sister as well as my father’s wife, I’m a bit lost.” “You are Farfallina’s child?!” Cavatina asked in a trembling voice, earning a brief nod from Chrysalis. “H-How is that possible?!” she nearly shouted, her words laced with fear, surprise and a lot of indignation. “Legato told me you had disappeared years ago...” “We both know that my late Uncle Legato never told you that,” Chrysalis interrupted her softly. “Don’t bother trying to lie to me, Cavatina. He confessed everything to me before he died. I would have stopped myself at killing Fortissimo and left you alone if he didn’t.” “What are you saying?” Cavatina let out in fear. “It wasn’t Fortissimo who ordered Legato to get rid of his bastards,” Chrysalis stated calmly. “It was you, Cavatina Tessitura.” When Cavatina tried to look down, the Swarmlady grabbed her chin and forced her to look up to her. “Fortissimo wanted to enjoy his life before marrying you, he just wanted to have fun before actually becoming your husband, even during your engagement period. You probably even fooled around with him a few times back then… You knew about them, didn’t you? All the flings he has had while he was officially courting you?” Chrysalis took Cavatina’s lack of response as a positive answer before continuing with what Legato had told her before his passing. “You didn’t care back then. You told yourself he would stop after your wedding ceremony. And he did stop…. Just after the accident with my mother…” “It wasn’t an accident!” Cavatina nearly roared in anger. “That whore threw herself at him on my wedding night! On the night that was supposed to be all about me, my husband impregnated my sister!” She glared at Chrysalis. “And then when she found out about it and confessed to me and my parents, instead of begging for my forgiveness, she had the audacity to beg our parents to let her keep the child, only to run away when she didn’t get what she wanted!” Her voice cracked in her fury, her next words laced with venom. “Farfallina more than deserved the life and death she got in this hell-hole you call a house!” A deafening silence followed Cavatina’s comment about her sister’s fate. Chrysalis and her aunt held their hard staring contest for a few seconds. “Let’s say, for the sake of the argument, that I agree with you that what my mother did was despicable and that she deserved her fate as you say,” Chrysalis let out, her whole body trembling at what she was saying about her mother. “How do you justify the command you gave to your brother after she ran away from the Tessitura Domain? The order to dispose of all of your husband’s children? Do you think they also deserved it as well?” When Cavatina didn’t reply and tried to look away, Chrysalis continued. ”Do you think that I, a twelve year old girl, deserved to be sold like cattle by a man I thought I could trust?! A man who was in reality my uncle?!” Chrysalis shouted, her hand tightening her hold on Cavatina’s face. “That I deserved to be raped almost everyday during the five years that followed?! That I deserved to lose any chance I had at a normal life because of the fact that my father got drunk and fucked the wrong sister?!” During her angered shout, Chrysalis’ gloves’ fingers morphed into sharp edges that pierced Cavatina’s cheeks, causing a few drops of blood to roll down on them. The princess trembled like a leaf, all traces of her earlier indignation at her sister had left her to be replaced by the terror induced by her niece’s anger. “I lost everything that I ever knew because of you, Cavatina Tessitura!” Chrysalis let out loudly, her voice cracking in her anger. “I lost my home, my family, my friends, my past, the future that I had and.... I even lost myself on the day Legato brought me to that wretched ship...” she added as her voice shook in sadness for a brief instant and some tears began to peal out of her eyes. “And tonight, you will endure all those losses as well!” Chrysalis threw Cavatina away from her, causing the princess fall heavily against the cracked wall of her mother’s bedroom. The same cracked wall through which she had been eavesdropping on her mother’s last conversation with her uncle all those years ago. “The domain of the Tessitura family is a ruin!” Chrysalis declared sternly. “All its inhabitants are dead! All its heirlooms and familial history have been burned to the ground! I saw to it myself!” The Swarmlady blinked to chase the tears that the remembering of her sack of her Uncle’s castle had brought. More specifically, the memory of the burning of one family portrait, the last one her mother had been featured, happily smiling as she stood between her two older siblings. “As we speak, my men are sacking Castle Mi-Amore. Their orders are to destroy everything and everyone on their path!” Cavatina gasped in horror when she realized what Chrysalis had meant. “All those you knew until this day will die tonight : the servants, the guards, the friends and guests you’ve invited, and even your sons. No one will be spared!” “N..No..” Cavatina began to beg as Chrysalis stepped closer from her. “When the sun rises tomorrow, Cavatina Tessitura and everything associated to her will have disappeared,” Chrysalis declared as her green magic began to encase hand. Cavatina started sobbing in terror as she was levitated by the bright green aura that had coated her soaken dress. “Ple...Please… Stop this!” she lamented in a pleading tone. “Killing me won’t bring you anyth…” “Killing you would bring me an immense satisfaction,” Chrysalis interrupted with a sardonic smile, prompting the princess’ sobs to grow louder. “Don’t worry though, you’re not going to die tonight,” she added in falsely gentle tone, as her magic began to encase her own chitinous armor. “But I can assure you… It will be.so.much.worse!” After a flick of her hand, Chrysalis’ magic violently tore Cavatina’s dress apart, leaving her with nothing but the ripped remains of undergarments and the lead braces and necklace on. At the same time, the Swarmlady’s Black Exoskeleton unfasted itself and flew away from her body to cover the now improper Princess. Cavatina tried to voice her interrogation at the fact that Chrysalis was cladding her in her own armor before it finished tying itself onto her and it blinded her with a bright flash of green. As Chrysalis now stood in the room in a simple, long, black tunic, she watched the young girl in a simple, cornflower blue summer dress falling on the ground before her. The Swarmlady was pleased to see that the girl looked nothing like Cavatina. Her hair now reached to her lower back and had abandoned its natural light pink hue in favor of a rich brown that seemed to shine under the moonlight that filtered through the window. Her slightly dry fair skin had taken a much more appealing, dark caramel color. She looked a bit taller and a lot curvier than she had been a second ago as even the loose, long dress she could barely hide her long attractive legs and hourglass figure. “...What did you…” the girl began to ask before stopping when she couldn’t recognize her own voice as it sounded sweeter and slightly more high-pitched than it had ever been before. “I did what I say I would,” Chrysalis replied to the now-wrinkle free, rounder face of her interlocutor. “Cavatina Tessitura is no more,” she stated as she kneeled down to look straight in baby-blue sapphirre the girl had for eyes, such a difference compared to the dull amethysts they had been before. “You are a just a very attractive girl that has negotiated her way out of the slums to a group of very pent-up sailors by telling them she’d do anything to leave this place.” As the girl’s full lips began to quiver at the implication, Chrysalis couldn’t help herself to feel a little pang of sympathy for her. It wasn’t big enough for her to stop herself though. “Now, come on!” Chrysalis said calmly before resting a glowing finger on the girl’s forehead. “Your rides are waiting!” As those words left Chrysalis’ mouth, the girl’s terrorized features soothened to a more calm face as her irises blinked green in reaction to the charm the Swarmlady had cast on her. The young girl then stood up and happily strutted out of the house before heading for the docks, a small jump in her steps. Chrysalis followed the girl to the ship whose crew she had negotiated the girl’s travel before heading to the Castle hours ago. Chrysalis watched as the transformed princess boarded the ship and immediately began to flirt with various sailors, stating loud and clear that she was more than ready to start paying for her travel. It didn’t take long for some of the more excited sailors to gather around the young girl who began to undress and dance for them to put them in the mood. It was when the naked girl was bent over a massive crate and with two now pantless sailors lined up before and behind her that Chrysalis snapped her glowing fingers to break the charm she had cast on the former princess. Chrysalis had hated every second of her time on that ship eighteen years ago, she saw no reasons for it to be different for the woman that had caused it in the first place. It had been so easy. As per Chrysalis’ instructions, Vigil Locust had stormed the castle with the seven hundred eighty-three Changelings right after her signal from the one of the smallest windows of the ballroom : A small burst of magic only visible for those who were clad in the Hive’s Exoskeletons. Passing the main gate and the walls had taken them no more a minute, as most guards in station where paying attention to the numerous carriages of the Mi-Amore’s guests parked inside the courtyard. Following the orders, the invading troup sent two third of its force straight to the ballroom to deal with the the ruling family and the nobles they had invited while the rest scattered through the castle grounds to purge them from their occupants. The Changelings barely encountered a form of resistance until Chrysalis broke the soundproofing spell she had cast in the ballroom and opened its main doors for them. And even then, it had been nothing more than a token effort. One futile attempt from the few nobles who had enough courage to fight to the death while the rest of them ran away like sheeps facing a pack of wolves. Their fighting spirit didn’t last long and died out at the moment Vigil forced one of his blades through Prince Bolero’s heart. The young Prince’s magic had been powerful enough to pierce through the Swarmlord’s exoskeleton and seriously injured his left arm, but it hadn’t been enough to stop Vigil’s advance, and once he was within reach Bolero was done for. After that it had been a simple matter of cornering the runaways and killing them. Something that didn’t take them more than an hour. Now, the Drones had scattered themselves throughout the castle grounds, some were on the lookout, a few were searching for something to eat or drink after a job well done, and some other were simply plundering through the Castle or looting the corpses just like Chrysalis had assured they could if they wanted to. The sixty-four Soldiers, the eight Executioners as well as Vigil, for their part, simply waited for Chrysalis to return in the only room big and clean enough to accommodate them : the throne room. They patiently kept themselves busy until the break of dawn when the doors of the room were pushed wide open. They all stood straight when Chrysalis, clad in a simple black tunic instead of her Exoskeleton, calmly walked in. As she walked up to Vigil, who had been staying in the center of the room, two of her Executioners moved in her direction and asked Chrysalis if she needed or wanted anything as walked past them. A brief smile and a simple shake of her head prompted her subordinates to bow and moving out of her way. “You’re late,” Vigil commented as the green-haired woman slowly walked up to him. “Sorry, Vigil. It turns out that the view from the docks was a lot more enjoyable than I first thought,” Chrysalis explained casually. “And your Exoskeleton?” Vigil asked as he recognized the tunic as the one the Larvae of the Hive wore before putting on their Exoskeleton for the first time. “I had to leave it behind,” Chrysalis replied with a noncommittal shrug, prompting surprised and confused whispers throughout the ranks of the Changelings around her. “It’s no big deal.” “I doubt the Hive will agree in giving you a new one,” Vigil commented matter-of-factly. “Doesn’t matter, I don’t plan on going back to ask for a new one,” Chrysalis retorted casually. “You don’t?” Vigil asked in a surprised tone. “No,” Chrysalis simply stated. “I have something more interesting to do now than going back to the gilded prison that we all call the Hive,” she added softly before looking at something behind the tall Swarmlord. Vigil looked at his former protegée with a raised eyebrow as confused whispers rang through the Changelings’ ranks. Then he decided to look at what her eyes seemed to be focused on. When his deep blue eyes landed on the late Fortissimo’s throne, he turned back at her with wide eyes of stupor. “Because of me, this country doesn’t have a ruler anymore,” Chrysalis stated matter-of-factly. “And thanks to all of you,” she added casually  at her audience. “All his potential replacements are gone too.” As a few dark humored chuckles rang through the Changelings, Chrysalis continued her statement. “The opportunity is here and I’m going to take it and I strongly advise you to take it as well!” “My Lady,” Clarion, Vigil’s second in command, called in an even tone as his fellow Executioners and Soldiers looked at the Swarmlady in confusion. “What are you talking about?” “The Mi-Amore had invited many heads of the noble families of Istalloña to yesterday’s parties,” Chrysalis reminded. “More than eighty of them responded positively to the invitation, and they died because of it… That means that, as of now, more than eighty domains, manors or castles are without masters and there are seventy-three of you,” she added slowly, waving at the crowd of dumbfounded assassins gathered around her. A lot of shocked but interested whispers broke through the room until Mendax and one of Chrysalis’ own Executioner, a tall blonde woman named Wasp, decided to intervene. “My Lady,” Wasp began slowly. “Those domains, manors or castles aren’t as empty as you’re implying them to be.” “The Heads of family might be gone, but there are still the rest of their kins,” Mendax reminded slowly. “And now that they’re dead, how are we supposed to take their places without those family members noticing something is up?!” “Mendax, I never said anything about just replacing the heads and keeping those family members,” Chrysalis stated matter-of-factly, earning a blank, surprised face from the two Executioners. “We have more than seven hundred Drones with us as well. They too deserve a reward for what they’ve accomplished during the night.” Out of all the possible replies Mendax and Wasp had expected from Chrysalis, this one was the least expected. “You disapprove?” she asked when her comment was met by nothing but a stunned silence “I’m just surprised you’ve thought this far ahead, My Lady,” Wasp confessed slowly, her head bowed down in submission. “Not at all!” Mendax assured with a shake of his head and an excited grin. “In the late Prince’s office, I put the list of guests on the desk and there’s a map on the wall showcasing all of the Nobles’ domains on the Istalloñan territory,” Chrysalis declared. “I’ll let you chose amongst you where each of you wants to go!” At those words, all the Changelings bowed their heads to the Swarmlady and the more excited of them nearly ran out of the throne room immediately after that. The rest of them went out in a slightly calmer manner while discussing between themselves what they would do if more than one of them would be interested in the same domain. As suggestions of friendly duels and ‘marriage proposals’ filled the air, the throne emptied itself bit by bit up to the point when only Chrysalis and Vigil were standing in the room. “How are you feeling?” Chrysalis asked in a concerned tone, her green eyes focused on the bandaged right arm of the Swarmlord. “It hurts a bit but I’ll live,” Vigil replied matter-of-factly. “The other Swarmlords will not accept that, Chrysalis.” “I don’t care,” Chrysalis assured slowly “I’ll do things for myself as of now. No one will control my fate anymore. No more Lord to sell me away, no more Sultan to lock me in a tower for his pleasure, no more Secret Organisation to demand that I kill for it...” "The Hive wasn't that bad to you, Chrysalis." "I never said it was, Vigil," Chrysalis assured slowly. "I'm grateful that you brought me there but the Hive has now served its purpose to me. Time for it to only be a memory." “You do know that the other Swarmlords will try to get rid of you?” “Do you think they could manage that exploit if I have all our Changelings and you here to protect me?” Chrysalis asked back playfully. “You’re that certain that I’ll stay here for you?” Vigil asked with a raised eyebrow before showing his wounded arm. "A few years ago, I would have walked out of tonight's fight unscathed. I'm not sure I'm in the condition to face the wrath of the Hive." "I'm sure that you are. You might not want to admit it, but you can’t get enough of me, Vigil,” Chrysalis stated with confidence. “Sadly for me that is true,” the Swarmlord admitted slowly. "Does that mean I'm your servant now and that I have to call you Princess Chrysalis?” Vigil asked with a small grin. “You'll never be my servant, Vigil,” Chrysalis assured softly. "Never!" she repeated sternly as she left Vigil's side to head for the empty, golden framed chair. “Also, I am no weak princess like the ones that ruled before me…” she declared proudly as she sat on the very comfortable throne. “I am a Queen!” Chrysalis stated with a clear voice that displayed so much pride and authority that Vigil felt the need to kneel before her rising instantly. “As you wish, Queen Chrysalis,” Vigil let out softly as he gave into the need and bent the knee.