The Clan of Outcasts (Seasons 1 and 2)

SERIES FINALE, Part 1

Edri slunk past the cages, ignoring the barrage of scents that assaulted her, even from these cages long-since-abandoned. She picked up her head as her nose caught a whiff of the person she wanted: Zayra, former Queen of the White Castle.

"Your highness!"

Zayra sat at the edge of the pen originally designed for zebras, according to the plaque overhead. She sat with her head bowed, her golden hair draped limply to conceal her face. She barely moved as Edri approached. The soldier threw herself at the Queen's feet.

"Your Majesty, at last I have found—"

"Why do you do this?" Zayra lofted her head, a vague disorientation in her gaze. "I am broken; I have no thrall over you—yet you still refer to me as your queen." She shook her head. "It is over, Edri. I am dethroned, and furthermore, now I know the full truth of what I am." Sobs gathered in her throat, choking her words. "I am a monster! A heartless leech that feeds on the freewill of others, sucking them dry to the point of death, and then casting them aside like garbage!" She covered her head with her hands. "I murdered my own parents without so much as a second thought! Why did I do it? What manner of creature am I, that I would do such a thing?"

Edri watched the young woman vent her sorrow. Perhaps it was true, what she said about the thrall. Edri certainly didn't feel the dense fog crowding her thoughts and reshaping then anymore. Yet one thing did still remain.

"Milady—"

"No titles, please. I am no better than an UnGifted citizen. The only reason I came to live at the castle was at the behest of others. Call me Zayra."

"Zayra." The name still felt queenly to say. "If you believe nothing else, trust me when I say that I am not here because you took my freewill." She placed a mailed hand on her breastplate. "I came because I gave it to you, without reservation."

Zayra gave a shaky half-smile. "Your zeal is commendable," she remarked, "but I am not worth your loyalty. I am certain it belongs rightfully to another."

Edri frowned. Would Zayra plan to reinstate the Twins, then? Surely Troy would succeed in killing off the Princes and their allies before they could find a way to stop him! With a shake of her head, she refocused on her present. "Where you lead, I will follow," She pledged.

This time, Zayra truly smiled. The tears fell no longer, and she took a deep breath to draw herself upright.

"That's precisely what I am counting on, my bold, brave Lion."

>>>>>>>>

Jade stood with the others in the middle of the room as the battle raged anew, this time coming from scores of angry villagers tricked into believing that their king wanted to take their rights, their land, and their lives to serve his purpose. Tricked because of lies her brother told.

"Someone's coming!" Azelie announced, just before a young man with curly red hair entered the darkened throne room.

"What's HE doing here?" Denahlia cried.

Kaidan held up his hand. "Peace, Hunter. I know how much you mistrust me because of the way I misused you in the past—"

"More like you just used me," Denahlia muttered.

"—but my sister has explained the situation and I have come to help." He glanced around at the other three: the Wolf, the Dragon, and the voiceless Paragon, who nodded.

"He is telling the truth," she said. "I believe him."

"Great," grunted Velora. "Let's get this done, then. What do we have to do, Jade?"