Dilara just finished scrubbing the floor and was about to stand up from it to do the next chore, until the bucket was knocked over on the floor, spilling a wave of dirty water all over the wooden floor. She took a look around only to see Shakila had indeed kicked the bucket over. Again.

Her older sister's emerald eyes darted down at her. Shakila slapped her long, scarlet hair behind her shoulder and she stood tall in her brightly colored dress.

"Whoops!" Shakila covered her mouth as her eyes broadened, pretending to be shocked. "My apologies, Dilara."

And as usual, Ingrid sniggered behind Shakila. That dirty blonde always carried her fan to hide her smile behind it, having her blue eyes holding their noses at Dilara.

Sighing, Dilara turned to and examined closely at the spilt water on the floor. It reflected her pale skin, black hair that was tied into a ponytail and her hazel eyes like a mirror. Frowning, she gazed for a little while after seeing the mess on the floor. 

Shakila and Ingrid turned to one another and chortled, before they walked away from Dilara. Dilara sighed and tilted her head left when she watched them leave her be. 

The hallway carried the landscape paintings on the wall. With the plants watching Dilara suffer from her sisters, her sister's laughter dominated her ears. A floral odor spreaded out in the air.

Watching her sisters, Dilara saw her mother smiling at her while her sister walked downstairs past her mother. With her arms crossed, her mother chuckled with her daughters a bit, then she turned back to Dilara. Now standing imposingly tall, her crow's feet, thin lips and gray eyes and hair all aimed for Dilara's face. She worn her brightly white, flowery nightgown made of silk. Her white hair was a bit fizzy.

"Don't forget about your duties at our church. And never miss a spot while you're at it, Dilara, " demanded her mother, moving her back away from the wall. "You know what happens, don't you?"

"Oh, don't worry, Mother," Dilara answered. "I won't."

"Good," echoed her mother's voice while she followed her daughters downstairs.

The moment Dilara's ears caught her sisters' loud gossip below her a glare was written all over her face. They were just nothing but a pain to her. Imagining them getting stabbed by magical knives was exactly what she would like for it to happen right now but didn't. Once her mother was killed, there was no way for her to find another employment. 

In Castoria, everyone in town believed in her mother's lies about her being a terrible worker and daughter. No matter how many times she tried to prove everyone wrong, most lower class people trusted her mother's word more than her due to her mother's social standing as a respectable lady in society.

She would travel outside of Castoria for employment as well but going alone was pretty risky. In fact, too risky for her. Only knowing healing magic, she would've either been killed by beasts or bandits along the way, and she just didn't want to risk that at all. In fact, when she was a poor little lass, she remembered a man saving her from a beast while she was traveling alone. Didn't know where she was going nor where to stay, he offered for her to stay at his place and she would gladly accepted it, following him there.

As soon as little Dilara arrived at the mansion, she recalled her father as a wealthy man kindly taking her under his wing, even treating her like a princess. Her mother and her sisters did accept Dilara for a while and treated her well. 

Then her father started to give Dilara everything she could ever wanted, and spent time with her—more so than her mother's own two daughters—even though she remained unspoiled herself. That was when her mother and sisters despised her. 

Shortly after her father passed away, she fired all of her servants and took everything away from Dilara, making Dilara a rugged servant girl for the rest of her life and made her life hell. She gave Dilara more chores around the mansion, while giving her own two daughters everything they wanted, spending more time with them than Dilara.

Dilara picked up the bucket and stood up from the ground. Now all she needed was to find a mop, so she walked towards the kitchen and look for it there, only to continue do more chores around the mansion. What sort of chores did she do? Well, lots actually. Lots of cleaning, mopping, cooking, gardening and all that other jazz.

Later that day, her mother watched Dilara wiped the table with liquid soap, a washcloth, and a bucket of water while she walked down the stairs, with her wrinkled hands sliding on the rail. Dilara excitedly smiled and sighed while she finished wiping it.

Ah, I'm finally done with my chores, so I should be able to get some rest now.

Her mother looked around the room before her eyes broadened. She viciously grinned at Dilara. "Now Dilara, I need you to do a couple more chores for me."

Dilara quickly turned her head towards her mother, a frown painted on her face. She was about to get done doing her chores, yet Mother expected her to do more. Wishing she had a shovel with her, she wanted to pummel her mother and sisters with it and bury them in the forest beyond her backyard.

"Yes, Mother?" asked Dilara.

"I need you to-" A knock on the door reverberated across the room. Her mother turned to the door, then ordered Dilara to, "Go get the door."

"Yes, ma'am."

When Dilara opened the door, she saw a barefooted boy dressed in a red outfit, standing there. He handed her a note.

"Here's the news letter, Miss," said the boy.

"Why, thank you, sir." Dilara bowed her head at him.

The boy waved his hand at her and ran away from the door. "Take care!"

"You too!" shouted back Dilara as she closed the door and handed the invitation letter to her mother. She didn't bother reading it since she was illiterate. "Here."

"Why, thank you, Dilara," said her mother. She accepted and opened the letter, reading it. She gasped and covered her mouth.

"Well, what is it, Mother?" asked Dilara.

"It's the king! He died from a disease today," answered her mother, looking at Dilara. 

"What?" Dilara widened her eyes and gazed at her mother for a moment there.

Her mother turned back to Dilara. "You heard me, girl! The king-"

"I already heard you say that. You don't have to repeat it, y'know." Dilara zoned out a bit. "I can't believe the king's dead now."

Closing her eyes, her mother nodded. "I know, I know. It's a sad reality, I know." But once she opened her eyes, she smirked at the paper and stared at it even further. "Say, now since that king died and there's a good chance newly appointed king plans to scrap the law forbidding marrying upwards, there might be an opportunity for Shakila and Ingrid to do so. I got to tell them this wonderful news." She turned back to Dilara and gave her a serious face. "Well, don't just stand there. Clean the dust off of the paintings and wipe the front porch."

"But I just clean that."

"Do as you're told girl, or I'll have my daughters beat you. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am. I will." Dilara's voice sounded disappointed, yet her mother ignored it. 

"Good."

Dilara carried her cleaning utensils and exited the mansion for porch cleaning, while her mother sat at the couch and shouted her daughters' names from the living room. After arriving at the scene and hearing the news from their mother, Shakila and Ingrid turned to one another with their grins on their faces, shrieking with excitement. They laughed with one another before they paid attention to their mother's funeral plans, waiting for their opportunities to pop up. 

*****

Three days have passed and the new king was appointed. Not knowing if the new one plans to scrap the law forbidding marry upwards, optimism still didn't die down in Dilara's mother and her sisters' eyes. When Dilara was about to finish dusting the living room, her mother arrived at the scene. 

"Hurry up, Dilara. The funeral's about to start soon! Quick, tell my daughters to prepare themselves for the funeral while I go get dressed. And don't forget to wear your black dress!"

"But-"

"Now! Or I'll have my daughters whip you. Is that clear? I've been planning this for three days with my daughters, and I'm not going allow you to ruin it."

"Yes, ma'am," said Dilara reluctantly as she and her mother head upstairs. She saw her wearing a black, silky dress, some high quality make up with her crow's feet no longer visible on her face, and her hair was dyed black. This was all an attempt to make her look young.

After Dilara warned her sisters to get ready for the funeral, she entered her own bedroom downstairs to the basement to get dressed.

It was no ordinary room.

The sunlight peeked through her barred window. There were a lot of stony bricks shining on the walls, and her bed only consisted of a pink blanket, a group of hay below it, and a pink pillow near it. There were also several sketches, drawings, and paintings stuck on her walls.

Her oval mirror reflected her "bed" on the floor over her dresser, reminding her of her sad life. Stacks of books stood beside her candle holder, where she would look at pictures in the book, especially at night.

She examined her necklace. It was a clear crystal that lustered from the giant mirror as they reflected her beautiful face. It also reflected how beautiful Dilara's hair and eyes were, as she was more beautiful than she sisters combined.

Memories showed a little girl exiting the castle in her space pod and leaving an older woman behind. She wondered why they kept appearing in her own mind until her mother's voice roared her name all over the mansion.

"Comin'!" replied Dilara as she put on a brown cloak and exited her room.

******

As soon as Dilara exited the mansion, her mother and her daughters immediately glared at her. They all wore black silky clothes.

"What in the gods' name took you so long, Dilara?!" roared her mother.

"Yea, we've been waiting for you forever!" Ingrid agreed, hiding her mouth behind her fan.

"Sorry," responded Dilara, locking the door. "My mind has somehow distracted me. I won't allow it to happen next time."

"You better not!" snapped her mother. "I will have my daughters beat you for that once we get home, do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Dilara as she bowed her head. Shakila and Ingrid grinned viciously at Dilara, turned towards one another, and sniggering as they gossiped about Dilara.

Dilara and her family walked down the yellow path throughout the woods. Dilara simply ignored them and kept walking, containing her anger inside to avoid trouble from her mother and sisters. She would love to have the beasts randomly appear to kill them and leave, but with the risks of traveling alone away from Castoria and her memories of being attacked by the beast as a little lass, that made her forget all about it. 

The trees and bushes watched Dilara and her family walk forward on the dirty path. With the birds chirping around them, the wind hitted them as the trees moved with it.

Dilara took a look up at the sky, seeing the fluffy clouds floating past the golden sun. The air smelled like heaven.

Memories of her father playing with her now entered her mind. Dilara sighed and frowned when she stared at the floating clouds, away from the sun in the sky. She missed her father being around.

She wondered why he married a woman like her mother. She also wondered why the gods allowed Father to pass away sooner, as well as made her suffer from her mother and her sisters' abuse. It was something that misunderstood her.

While they continued walking through the forest, an old woman in a brown cloak to their left walked through the forest, preventing them from seeing her. Her hood protected her eyes in the shadows while the cool autumn wind blew her hair that stuck out from her cloak. When the leaves fell from the tree branch, they rained on her as if they were pieces of paper.

Then the visions of the necklace haunted her mind. They reminded her of the prophecy of defeating the dark lord and saving Aniva.

"Aaah…This can't be…!" The woman spoke to herself as she sensed something near her. She saw four women walking in the woods.

She slowly walked towards one of the trees and stood behind it, watching them from afar. Her hand held onto her crooked walking stick.

"Ah, I found it at last!" She whispered when she sensed the necklace. "I have to get a woman with that necklace to save Aniva! One of these women definitely has to have it!" She followed after them throughout the forest.

******

By the time Dilara, her mother, and her daughters entered the kingdom gates of Castoria, Dilara's family all walked gracefully and lady-like. Dilara just walked like an average person. 

They surveyed their surroundings. The passenger and merchant airships flew across the skies for trade and travel, bringing prosperity to Planet Arosca. A few people's yabber echoed across the area as the majority of stores were closed for the funeral. It was less busy than usual. The majority of the people there all wore black. The men wore pants and the women only wore long skirts, with children dressing the same as adults.

The soldiers held onto their guns and reminded the citizens of the incoming funeral. The remaining citizens complied as Dilara's ears caught a man's yell. She watched the guards pin him down on the stony ground and arrest him for refusal to attend. Dilara's mother and sisters also noticed this, haunting their hearts.

The woman in a brown cloak walked behind them, her walking stick clicking as it hit the ground with every step. "Oh, yes. Once I get to that funeral, I should be able to find the one with that necklace," she whispered to herself.

The closer Dilara, her mother, and her daughters were to the funeral, the more crowded it became. The funeral hadn't even started, yet the crowd was already boisterously chatting. They said their excuse mes while fighting through the crowd until they made it.

When they stopped near the guards, the soldiers blocked the people's advances while Dilara, her mother and her family moved their heads sideways for a better view. There they saw a young newly appointed monarch standing near the burial bed of the late old king's corpse with a bald head. The rest of the people behind them, who appeared to be aristocrats, stood away from them.

They all wore their silky black dresses and the women's faces were covered behind the see-through black veils. It was customary for aristocratic women to wear a veil for the late member of nobility in Castoria, not men.

They believe the veils colored in black would protect them from spirits of the recent dead, from invading their bodies and making their souls impure. The funny thing was those spirits never invaded aristocratic men, only women.

The fact is, no aristocratic woman had ever done this anywhere else outside of Castoria. And besides, those veils were too expensive for the average person to afford anyway.

Aristocrats stood in front of the gray castle with gigantic, brown wooden doors. It was a sad day for them to lose another member of nobility.

Dilara gazed at her mother and her sisters chatting with one another. Then she turned to the late king with her dejected face.

After a while, one of the soldiers blew his trumpet so loudly that the crowd came into complete silence. He shouted, "The funeral is about to began. No interruptions or you will be arrested as soon as possible."

After the soldier shook his head to the monarchs, the funeral had began. Dilara, her mother, and her daughters watched the funeral with their eyes moving a bit sideways. The women's cries vibrated all around the funeral and her sisters' cries were no exception. Their tears were poured down on their cheeks. They wiped their tears off with either their hands or handkerchiefs.

Dilara watched her mother, Ingrid and Shakila for a second there before she returned her attention to the funeral. Her sisters cried about it while her mother tried not to show any facial expression, to prevent a pair of crow's feet appearing on her face. Dilara was about to cry too yet she closed her eyes for a few moments and held her tears back. 

The woman in a brown cloak stood near the crowd without even an interest in watching the funeral. Her visions of the necklace continued haunting her as soon as she stood near Dilara and her family. She scanned her surroundings to see whether or not people had seen her in the crowd. Once she was sure no one saw her, she began to search for the right woman.

Putting her hand out forward, she tried to determine if the three women near Dilara had the necklace but failed. But when she pointed her hand at Dilara however, visions of the necklace and the black silhouette person shone the white light from the necklace at another one wearing a crown.

Her hand was shaky a bit, looking up at Dilara. She smiled at her, believing she finally found what she was looking for. "Ah, yes, yes. This one's the one I'm looking for. Yes…I finally found her at last!"

She checked her surroundings before she turned back to Dilara, raising her hand up in the air, getting ready to snap her fingers. "Time to freeze the ceremony. Charozum!"

After she snapped her fingers, everyone was frozen except Dilara. Dilara widened her eyes when scanned her surroundings front and back, noticing everyone wasn't moving, not even her mother and sisters were.

Wh-What the hell's goin' on here?! Why are people frozen all the sudden?!

"In case you're wondering why people are frozen," the mysterious voice echoed behind me, turning around, making me wonder who it was.