First Pov

I wasn't always enemies with Fate.When I was a very young girl she treated me with kindness and she also gave me advice. I don't remember all of them.Hatred makes us forget so there is nothing holding back our rage.

Despite that however there is something she once told me that I never forgot. Your enemies will not do anything that offends themselves. For many years I thought she was not telling me anything important,I didn't even know why I remembered it.

Now I know why. I let fear cloud my judgment when I should be focusing on my enemy's fear. Instead of seeing the desperation in my opponent's actions I only cared about how they affected my strategy.

We finally reached Haures's room. It seemed to me that it took ages to reach it. Funny how thinking changes our perception of time.

Haures was awake when we arrived. He seemed more curious than angry to see me.

"What's wrong,your Grace? Disappointed for having to cancel my funeral?"

"If you have the energy to joke around that means you will be okay. Although I should be concerned about your perception of reality."

"This comes from a Queen who was seen visiting one of the Princes of her enemies. I would love to see you explaining this to the council."

"The world "enemies" redefined between us years ago. Are you sure you don't have amnesia?"

"The fact I am still lying down and I haven't gotten up to smack you for making sarcastic comments should provide you with a clear answer."

Paimon hasn't spoken since we entered the room. He just stood there with a sceptical look on his face.

"Glad to see you both have the energy for light conversation. It seems I'm the only one who worries about the Dark Queen. This hospital is secluded but not isolated enough."

"You will leave me to handle the Dark Queen from now on."

Paimon looked at me with a confused look on his face.

"I thought that was your job all along."

"No,you misunderstood me. I mean no more hiding and no more running. It is highly possible that what has happened to Haures is the result of extreme stress. You will not return to the palace,of course, and you will stay in this small estate but there is no reason to play "hide and seek" anymore."

Suddenly Paimon's eyes filled with disbelief and a hint of anger.

"So what happened all of sudden,Eve? Because the way I see it there are two possible scenarios. Either you acquired some new information that will allow you to corner the Dark Queen or you discovered a better way to use the information you already have in your disposal. Either way you owe us some explanations."

"Leave her be Paimon."

I must admit Haures defending me was one of the things I thought I would never live.

"I may doubt her intelligence and her resourcefulness but I know that I know she fears universal imbalance. She would never toy with it. Also,she is usually quite talkative. If she chooses to withdraw information she must have a very good reason.I made the unwilling decision to trust her and I must admit,with a heavy heart,that until now I haven't found a reason to question that trust."

I didn't know if I should feel insulted or honored by that speech. I chose the second for the sake of maintaining the peaceful atmosphere inside this room.

"Thank you,Haures,for your kind words. You should rest now. Johanna, can I have a private word with you outside?"

"What seems to be the matter,your Grace?" she asked when we were in the corridor.

"Have you ever encountered fused souls?"

"You mean one soul mixed with another?Rarely but yes. Why?"

"Hypothetically speaking if someone wanted one of the two souls extinguished could there be a way to save the other soul?"

"It seems you don't know much about fused souls, your Grace. First of all,these two souls are in constant rearrangement within the body. Like a cup of coffee that is constantly being stirred. The coffee and the milk are everywhere inside the cup.Something similar is happening with joined souls. If one were to kill that person that would likely mean the loss of both souls.However there is one moment that the souls can be distinguished from one another. Shortly after birth for unknown reasons the energy of the body forces the soul to "stand still" so to speak.``

For a moment she stopped talking and looked me straight in the eye like she was debating whether she should continue her explanation. Eventually a faint,almost ironic,smile appeared on her face.

"Hypothetically speaking, if I were a mother and I wanted my son's soul back I would want to be as close as possible to the birth to ensure the survival of my son but the death of the other soul. Unfortunately that would be the only way to separate them."

"Just a last question.In case of miscarriage both souls are lost right?"

"Oh I forgot to mention. If one of the souls is strong enough, yes it could survive and be separated from the other. Also,irrelevant imput,Dark Queen's son would have such an enduring soul."

"That last one can't see how it is connected to our conversation."

"Of course,your Majesty,just thinking out loud. I'm afraid I have to go now. I don't want to leave Haures alone for long."

"Certainly. And let's keep this conversation between us."

"I wouldn't have any reason to inform anyone of the simple fact that I talked with the Queen about a past medical case of mine."

She winked and left with a smile. Meanwhile,I sat down trying to put my thoughts in order.It is obvious now that the Dark Queen never wanted to capture Haures to kill Thanos as soon as possible.Her original plan must have been to play the role of the distressessed and supportive ruler to remain close to Haures until birth and then divide the souls. When she decided she couldn't pull it off she scared Haures on purpose, making him believe his brother was in immediate danger,causing him to flee, and as a result stressing him and severing the energy connection.The frightening thing was that she almost succeeded. In the end Thanos would be gone and she would have her son back. The biggest lie of them all however was telling her that she wanted her son dead for being too dangerous to be kept alive.

Thanos's life is still in danger. That doesn't change.Thinking about it she should do some research regarding the Dark Queen's son. It was a mistake not to have done it by now.

I stood up to leave when I received a message on my phone. It was the Dark Queen.

"Eve,it's been a while. I'm down in the cafeteria. Why don't you join me? I would strongly advise you not to refuse."

I didn't know if I should panic that Haures and the Dark Queen were in the same building or if I should see it as an opportunity to confront her.Regardless,meeting with her is inevitable at this point.