The Kingdom of Neba... The Red Queen's restaurant. Wazir and Mac huddled together, trying to console a distraught Forest. On their faces were signs of tiredness and worry as they all thought of ways to help Elena. When Forest ran to them with the news, they could not believe their ears and had thought he was joking. Mac's heart shattered as he felt it was his fault. He never meant to involve Elena in his fight with Joüstin. He never even suspected that Joüstin would go as far as to carry out a kidnap. They must have pushed him to the edge. Wazir, on the other hand, was broodingly thoughtful. His eyes were scrunched up, an unrecognizable glint shone in his eyes. His mouth was bent into a scowl, and one could only wonder what was going on in his mind. Forest was sitting on a chair, biting his fingernails. His feet were trembling, and he couldn't stop the occasional racking sobs that had been threatening to break out ever since he came to the restaurant. Suddenl

The forest was strangely still, the soft breeze being the only thing that moved. Svetlana's eyes widened at seeing the stranger, and the feeling of surprise was not foreign to Darukï either. They stood silently, dragging their eyes across the other's form, then suddenly, Svetlana ran to him and threw herself on top of him, hugging him tightly. "Dar," she said, sobbing heavily. She couldn't believe that her reason for seeking refuge in Neba had paid off after so many years. She had found her father. "Hush, Lana," Darukï said, dragging his hands across his daughter's back as he fought his tears from falling. "It's okay, it's okay. Everything is fine now." He said, consoling his daughter. They separated after a while, though Svetlana clung heavily to his arm. "I thought I had lost you! I have been looking for you for years! Where have you been all those while?" "Relax," Darukï said with a smile, moving a tendril of hair that had fallen on her face behind her

The Kingdom of Neba... The King's Palace. The king of Neba held his breath as he watched his granddaughter enter his royal study. She was the exact copy of her grandmother and his daughter. Fighting the feeling of melancholy pooling in his eyes, he walked over to her briskly and enveloped her in a hug. He could tell that she was shocked as her body stiffened, but he hugged her even tighter, not willing to let go. It had been so long since he hugged his daughter. Now he could hug his granddaughter. After a while, he could feel her hands on his back, shyly returning his hug. "Oh my dear, how I have wanted to do this for a long time." He said, choking on a sob. They remained like that before he finally pulled apart and studied her, taking note of her appearance. "My dear child, are you okay? I'm so sorry for not meeting with you earlier. I had thought that you might need your space, had I just met you, all these wouldn't have happened–" "It's okay, grandfather,"

The kingdom of Neba. The King's Palace... Elena stood at the castle entrance, waving at the king and Svetlana with Wazir next to her. It had taken a lot of promises for the king to let her out of his sight. He wanted her to stay in the castle, but after having lived in one for most of her life, even though it was not enjoyable, she was beginning to enjoy the life of an ordinary citizen. She promised her grandfather that she would be coming over to the castle every day to visit him and her grandmother. After being coerced, the king finally agreed to her demands but promised to storm her restaurant if she never carried out her part of the deal. She promised him that she would. Finally done with the end greeting, she turned away with Wazir and started the long walk back to their restaurant. Wazir had been strangely quiet since their departure, and so to liven the atmosphere, Elena asked him a question. "Why is the King's castle not in the capital city?" "Hmm?" W

More days passed as Calhoun, and his crew trod across the dark forest. They were already losing hope of ever finding their way out when they were blessed with the sight of sunlight at a far-off distance. Immediately they started galloping to the light, happy that finally, after a long time, they would be able to come out of the dark forest. They have never missed the sun as much as they did during that period. It didn't take much time before they reached the end of the forest, finding themselves in a somewhat deserted village. There were run-down houses, and the roads were dirty, though not enough that showed there was no civilization. There wasn't a soul in sight, though. Calhoun looked back at where he had come from, and the forest stood tall and proud, emitting danger. He trotted into the village, his guards and Firoza right behind him as he tried looking for signs of life. The clouds were finally an everyday shade of blue, typical for most people, as the sky back in the