The maid called out from behind the gigantic doors:
"Your Highness... My Lady... there are visitors. Shall I allow them to enter?"
Kendra silently nodded her head.
The golden doors slowly opened, releasing a brilliant white light that flooded the entire royal hall. The rays reflected upon the polished marble and the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, making the place seem as though a fragment of heaven had descended upon the earth.
Roy, Leora, and the white creature walked in with steady steps.
Kendra was seated upon her throne, but something about her was different.
Her gaze no longer carried the serenity everyone was used to seeing.
A faint sadness was hidden behind her eyes.
She spoke calmly:
"So... you've arrived. I was expecting you, Roy."
Roy observed her for a few moments before saying:
"You seem different today... Something is weighing heavily on your heart."
Leora whispered while staring at her in admiration:
"Who is this woman...? She looks like a celestial angel."
The white creature replied in a low voice:
"Lower your voice... She can hear everything."
Silence filled the hall for a few moments.
Then Kendra sighed.
"Every day I sit upon this throne... I feel as though I'm losing a part of myself."
She slowly raised her hand.
"Everyone sees me as a queen... but all I see is a prisoner wearing a crown."
Roy's expression changed.
"Why are you saying this now?"
Kendra closed her eyes.
"Twelve queens have ruled this world throughout history... nine of them met their end in flames."
Leora trembled.
"How did that happen?"
Kendra opened her eyes once again.
"It wasn't an accident."
"It was fate."
Silence spread throughout the hall.
The only sound that could be heard was the wind passing through the strange plants scattered around the palace.
Then she continued:
"There are laws older than the kingdoms themselves... laws that preserve the balance of existence."
"And maintaining that balance requires a sacrifice."
"The queens... have always been the price."
Leora's eyes widened.
"If you know this... then why do you keep going?"
Kendra smiled faintly, her smile mixed with sorrow.
"Because running away does not stop destiny."
Roy clenched his fist.
"As for that exile... she still hasn't made her move yet."
Kendra replied:
"She believes she has been freed... but in truth, she has simply lost her way."
Silence once again filled the hall.
Then Roy raised his gaze toward her.
"You know very well why I don't trust this court."
Leora turned to him in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Roy lowered his head slightly.
"Because when I was more than just a servant here... I was stabbed in the back."
Leora's breath caught.
But Roy continued in a cold tone:
"And the betrayal didn't come from an enemy."
"It came from someone who lived inside this palace."