SERENIA
"Serenia. I'm going to be honest with you, I did not expect this sudden change of heart."
Serenia is standing between two First Ones guards in a fancy room that looks like an office. Mr. Serge is sitting in a chair turning his back at his niece, while looking at a blue holographic screen.
"To be honest, me neither. I think the main reason I turned against the First Ones is when I found out you tried to kill me, uncle. I'll admit it, I was pretty heartbroken, but as usual, I got over it. After all, it's our reign before blood, right?"
The guards are still holding her and her hands are still cuffed, while Mr. Serge's chair slowly turns around. Finally, the man is facing his niece. He looks fierce in his white First One's wear. The man stand up and walks on the blue floor of the ship towards the girl.
"And what do you expect me to do with you, dear Serenia." Mr. Serge says, not as a question, but as a thought.
"I want to have my old rank back. I want to be a commander and superior again. I wish to stand by your side again." Serenia tries to talk in the most confident way possible, but none can avoid the voice cracks and tremblings.
The uncle sights and the girl's heart skips.
"Of course, dear. You are welcomed back in your true place, commander Serenia." Serenia's face almost drowns into tears, but she manages to hold them. She looks devastated but a smile appears on her face.
"Really?"
"Of course not. You betrayed your family. My poor sister, Marnie... Your parents are very disappointed in you."
The niece takes a deep breath. She's reassured by his answer, but bringing her mothers up wasn't the right move. She could just end his life right there and then. She would grab her two blades the guards took and snap him out of existence. Though the girl can't help but believe him.
She puts her head down and looks at the perfectly polished blue floor off the ship. Serenia loves her mothers more than anything, but she isn't sure that feeling is mutual. After all, First Ones reign before blood, right?
"Dispose of her." Mr. Serge starts walking away and Serenia's eyes widen. The guards take a firmer grip of her arm, but then, Mr. Serge stops.
"Actually, put her into a waiting cell. I want my sister to see how sometimes, you fail to educate your children properly." He smiles and looks at the girl one last time before he sits back down in his chair.
"You are a horrible man." The girl mumbles as she gets taken away to her cell.
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MARA AND PLANTIA
Plantia and Mara are in the whispering woods, a few meters away from the plain with the crystal castle. Two First Ones are knocked out against a tree under a blanket Plantia insisted on putting over them.
Even though Mara already had First Ones clothes, she changed into the guard's wear to blend in.
"You know, you could've also brought them here with a vine. Did you seriously have to send me out on that plain to fetch those people? I could've been seen." Mara says adjusting her white and golden outfit.
Plantia laughs nervously and takes a step back. "You know, in my home, we try to minimise as much of the amount of violence as possible." The princess notices how she just stepped on a flower and gasps. She grows an entire bush at the place she crushed a single flower.
"You know, if you did that for every single grass, we would be here for a while." Mara smiles at Plantia but she stands up for herself.
"Actually, I do. Every time I step on grass, I grow it back with my feet. It has become a habit and I do it incautiously now. It's almost unnoticeable."
