Anslem, Rubian Capital2030        General Barron sat in his study, staring into space as he was plagued by disturbing thoughts. Barron was starting to regret sending his only daughter to Silvera just so she could become queen. Barron knew his daughter was very beautiful and he loved her dearly. Hazel's beauty was beyond the beauty of the Rubians and if she didn't have brown eyes and hair, he would've believed that she was either a silver blood or a blue blood. He snorted to himself, he was being totally ridiculous. She was his daughter and as far as he could tell, he was a red- blood. He hated the Silverans and he had only sent her there so that she could help him infiltrate the kingdom and pull it down. The problem was that Hazel probably hated him and he felt

         "Who are you?" Hazel asked, watching him carefully. He smiled and her eyes widened. If Caden was gorgeous, this black blood was drop dead gorgeous. He slipped his right hand into the pocket of his pants."I would've said curiosity killed the cat. Who am I kidding? You're no cat. But, you really are nosy, aren't you?" He said, turning away from her. She watched him as he plucked one of the multicolored flowers that looked really attractive. He walked towards her and lowered her shawl from her head. Hazel's heart began to thud madly when his lavender scent drifted into her nostrils. He gazed at her for a moment, his eyes swimming with amusement. He slowly positioned the flower on her hair."There, that's much better" he said but Hazel couldn't stop staring at him. She noticed the length of his dark lashes, wondering why on earth a man would have such lovely lashes.His skin was so pale and it had such a

Yuka stared at Hazel as she embraced him. She seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that he was shirtless. But then, he felt her crying, her tears dampening his skin. It bothered him a lot. He knew that she was probably going through so much and was barely adjusting to life as the future queen of Silvera. He felt sorry for her. "Yuka?" She whispered, her head still resting on his chest. "I really don't want to make you uncomfortable, but you're so warm and you smell so good" she said and raised her head from his chest to look at him."You know that, right?" She asked with a smile on her face, despite the tears in her eyes. "Of course, I know. It's my body, isn't it?"She grinned and embraced him again. Suddenly a bubble of laughter escaped her lips. "I have no idea why I'm enjoying this. I really wish..."She stopped herself, but Yuka knew what she was going to say. She wasn't going to say that she wished that he wasn't Caden's brother. Neither was she going to say that she

    "Are you threatening me right now, your highness? No, wait. You are threatening me. Wait until Caden hears about it" The queen was getting more riled up by the second. She couldn't understand why Hazel was so immune to her. She hated it. Evey other person in the palace was completely under her control. Everyone but Yuka and Hazel. She was frustrated. Since she couldn't get either of them to fear her, she was pissed. "I have a hunch that you stole the Sceptre. But since I have no proof, I'm going to let that slide.... for now.You want to act all tough and fearless. That's fine by me. Maybe, just maybe, you're going to end up six feet below the ground sooner than I thought" the queen said and walked away. Hazel glared at the Queen's retreating figure even though, deep down she was worried. Prince Caden was boiling with anger by the time he arrived right in front of the door of Yuka's chamber. He

Jotham, Silveran Capital2030     To say that Hazel was tensed would be an understatement. She couldn't stop pacing back and forth in her room. She needed to act quickly, but a couple of guards were outside her room. She wouldn't be able to sneak out of her room without being noticed. Hazel had a hunch that among the men standing in front of the door, one of them was a spy that the queen had put in place to monitor her. Negative thoughts invaded her mind.What if she eventually told Yuka to help her and he refuses? What if he agrees to help her, but ends up being too late. She swallowed hard and shook her head, trying to ward off these ugly thoughts.      Just before dinner, Hazel decided to sneak out of her room through the window. It was a strenuous task, but she did it anyway. She managed to sneak into the East wing of