The reality was that Irelia didn’t get along with Orion, and there would be a slither of hope of them being on the same page until something triggered an argument. It would wake the entire Kingdom of Strive, but most importantly, the current King would hear about these disagreements daily. “Follow me, your majesty.” Irelia tip-toed behind the servant, negative thoughts spiraling thinking about divorce papers being filed and returning to her mother, whom would lock her in a dungeon for several weeks. Yes, she hated waking up to the same face every morning. Hated the way he talked to her in certain situations, hated how he took the very thing keeping her from a psychotic break, but all this hatred wasn’t enough for her to stay away from him. It was almost like she was developing feelings for him, emotions were always there, laying dormant until the right time. “May I ask where you are taking me?” Irelia figured questioning the woman would work, but it was only met with silence before a sudden stop was made in front of two large doors. “Right this way, your majesty.” Who was she to question? Irelia obviously wasn’t one to care about the destination, following whoever she pleased until the doors shut behind her, and a swift domino line of locks clicked in line. “Alright, what the fuck?” Sheer panic set in, immediately thinking her life was over and months would pass while she lay in this room, rotting away. “I know I’ve been a pain in the ass, but I can fix it. I can be better—I mean…maybe not much better. Let’s face it, I will always be a pain in the ass.” Her words were not helping her case as she fell to hands and knees to peek through the tiniest crack, not a shadow in sight nor guards. What the hell was going on? In another wave of panic, Irelia turned to catch a glimpse of a window twice as big as the one in her quarters. “I’ll do it. I’ll jump–” A simple glance was enough to notice how she was locked in the highest tower known to Strive. “Never mind, I have decided not to jump.” There were so many unanswered questions, and she wandered further into the bedroom, which suddenly seemed to appear more of a cottage with a kitchen, dining area, and another room with a large number of books that she’d never touched. Everything sparkled as the staff had cleaned right before she arrived, but this didn’t answer her questions about how long she’d be staying in this small kingdom. “Jokes on you, I can keep myself entertained for days.” Irelia moved towards the miniature library, eyes adjusting to the darkness as much as they could before gliding her fingers over the cases of books until she felt an unusual warmth. A scream shook the area of where she stood, slapping instinctively whatever entity was in the room before she ran back towards the door. She struggled to open it, fiddling with the golden handle, and, in her case, popped right into her hand. “Okay?” Just her luck, Irelia glued her eyes to the door in front of her and didn’t dare move a muscle until she had a solid plan forming in her head. “One time when I was young, I decided it would be a brilliant idea to take my younger brother Dae to the cliffs. The ocean waters were terrifying, viciously smashing up against the rocks, and we were both unaware of Poseidon’s wrath that day. We joked with each other about jumping in and about who was brave enough to cliff dive. The minute Dae turned around, I jumped into the water. I nearly drowned from the strength of the waves, fighting to stay above the water, and all I could see was Dae trying to catch the attention of our parents.” She hummed softly, leaning her head against the door as the memories waved through her mind like the water on that day. “I always thought my older brother didn’t care, but seconds before I lost the will to keep fighting—he dove right in and pulled me out. He never asked why I stopped fighting, only asked if I was okay, which was so bothersome. I always wonder why he never asked.”













