****Save the song for Ianite's POV*****. (I'll put it by his POV as well. It just ties the scene together)

Dianite POV-

The throne room was quiet.

His subjects bowed down before him left and right.

It wasn't an unusual occurrence, but...today was different.

With his subjects still not daring to rise from their positions by the nether stone floor under them, the large doors leading into the room opened up to reveal his queen.

Her short brown hair was woven into an intricate braid which held the crown above her head perfectly. The crown was nothing magnificent, of that she had insisted. Fancy crowns were apparently not to her liking, so instead of one of those, she wore a simple metal band dark as night across her head with small red rubies made out of red stone, mined at the heart of the castle.

Much like the black and red crown, her new gown was simple, plain black with intricate stitching on the sides of the the skirt which would be invisible unless looked upon closely.

But no matter how simple the attire, she looked stunning.

As Jordan made her way over to his throne, she walked with the grace of a true queen, though he could see her fidgeting with her fingers at her sides and her face would look at the ground every now and then.

She wasn't used to being a queen yet, and being the gentle and humble person she was....of course she would be insecure.

But as her eyes caught his, she smiled...that smile was enough for him to lounge back into his chair, and watch his subjects and personal court fumbling to catch their jaws from the ground at the sight of their new queen.

He didn't smile back, not in front of his subjects, instead he beckoned her forward and she settled onto his side comfortably.

Some of his minions were still working on her throne which should be ready in a day or two if he kept them working non-stop. Though Dianite didn't mind having to share his throne at the moment.

It was just like before, but it wasn't stolen moments they were having on his throne, no...now they would both rule together for all to see.

Once Jordan began stroking his hair playfully, he decided to let his subjects free.

As they all began to exit the room muttering to themselves, his personal council came forth and bowed before him and Jordan.

Colbert quickly got up and took a few steps toward them, bowing down once he was within reach of the stairs to the throne.

"My lord" he bowed

Colbert looked up at him and Jordan with a puzzled look.

"My lady" he said, gathering the side of his ridiculous coat and flourishing it backwards before bowing again.

Jordan gave Colbert a small smile and then turned to Dianite with a questioning look.

"Colbert here is my personal record keeper and Alastair over there is his brother, he is in charge of keeping order here when I am away" he responded

It hadn't occurred to Dianite that Jordan and his private council had never been properly introduced.

The first time they met was when Jordan lost her mind over the pirate incident, that day she had just seemed terrified of them and way to focused on something else to question them fully. The last time she saw them was...well a few hours ago.

Looking back at them, they seemed reluctant to speak up, but at least none of them were irrational enough to question him.

"I see we are no longer to kill the girl" Arlo said, his long clawed hand pointing at his queen.

Jordan stopped playing with Dianite's hair and turned to face him fully, her brows raised.

How dare Arlo disrespect her!!!

It was time for his closest advisers to be reminded who was in charge once again it seemed...and to teach them where their place was.

Dianite summoned a circle of fire along the un-burnable nether stone floor.

None of them flinched very much, but as if noticing his mistake, Arlo took a step back and bowed.

Now was the time to see if his lady had truly meant everything she said, and for his subjects to learn a few more lessons.

Dianite stood from his throne, gently setting Jordan next to him.

He turned towards his lady as she fixed the folds of her gown and pointed at Arlo.

********

Claire POV-

"It seems that Arlo here has deemed it appropriate to disrespect you my love. As future queen of these lands and my champion, it is up to you to bring judgement and punishment to his actions" Dianite said, his eyes blazing with red hot flames.

Jordan tried to remain calm.

The people before her were more terrifying than she remembered, some more terrifying than her most creative nightmares.

But they were suspicious of her and the new position she held after apparently being given the order to have her killed.

Still, Jordan knew this wasn't about the words said by the ender man looking creature before her with eyes black as the depths of the sea.

No...this was a test.

Jordan had told Dianite she would be willing to give in to the darkness and become something horrific.

So he wanted her to deem him worthy of being killed for a simple offense that seemed more like facts rather than an insult against her.

Maybe he would have her kill Arlo as part of that test of darkness too.

But....

Dianite knew how hard old habits are to break.

Perhaps being fully bloodthirsty would be a bad idea after all, it would show that she was too eager or perhaps not herself at all.

Despite how much she hated it, Dianite knew her in ways many others didn't. All the times she did unspeakable things there was reasons behind it and what bothered Dianite was that she felt guilty afterwards instead of embracing her 'dark deeds'.

Perhaps her new role as champion and 'queen' required her not to be completely bloodthirsty and cruel but rather guiltless in times of darkness. That would be a far more believable lie.

Jordan knew she had to tread carefully because of how much she had hurt Dianite in the past. She could see his guard was up but his feelings left some of those defenses weakened.

So, Jordan took a deep breath and forced her way down the few flights of stairs towards the slender looking creature.

Once she was as close as her fear would let her get to it, she squared her shoulders and gave him a look of disgust, much like the way Tom looked when someone stole food from him.

She turned back to Dianite and willed curiosity into her features.

"As queen shouldn't I abide to the rules and laws of the Nether? What is the punishment you would grant for such an offense?" She asked sweetly but not weakly, not in front of his council.

Dianite revealed a bit of shock before going back to his wicked expression.

"Death as with all servants. Im sure you remember when I had to enact those kinds of punishments my love" Dianite said

Well, crap.

It was true that Dianite would kill pretty much anyone for the littlest things, Jordan just though that him being a member of his court that the long legged freak held certain privileges. She kind of hoped he was too important to kill.

Though the thing before her had probably done many evils in his life, she hated knowing death awaited it by her command.

But its what Dianite was waiting to hear. She couldn't save his subjects now like she used to, this had to be done.

"Then he must die" she said as coldly as possible

Then she turned her back on Arlo and walked back to Dianite, her infernal high heals clicking on the polished floor and digging into her feet.

Once at his side, Jordan saw Dianite seemed...pleased.

He raised his had and Jordan prepared for Arlo to be burned to ash as his companions stepped away from him.

Arlo himself didn't seem to be all that scared, as if dying by his lord's wishes was a welcomed death.

Jordan's stomach sank when a polished sword appeared on Dianite's hand instead of a blazing inferno like the one surrounding them.

He placed the sword on her right hand and kissed it.

"Then do what you do best my dear and kill those who stand against you. Show them what happens when they disrespect their queen and champion" he said

That blade felt heavier in her hand than any other blade she had ever held before, not because of the metal but because it would kill someone who hadn't really done anything against her.

She wasn't in mortal danger and yet she was killing.

But she had killed before, many times actually in situations that weren't life of death. She tried to convince herself that this was just another mob, sure looked like one.

Yeah, just another mob.

Jordan slowly descended back down the steps, sword in hand and doing her best not to left the pity and regret show.

She had to make this as real as possible.

"You know.." she said to Arlo "my old god used to say that insults and words were harmless and people should be punished for things they said. I think thats why he found it so easy to spout many insults my way about the monster I was becoming, even easier to proclaim a lying pirate as my replacement"

Once she was a foot away from him, the creature kneeled before her, ready for its death.

She couldn't breath...what was she doing....

This was for Ianite. For balance. For a better world in which her friends could live in.

"I now find myself disagreeing with that statement" she said and laced a bit of pain into her words, as if remembering her old god's betrayal.

Trying her best not to think about the weight of the sword as she raised it a bit, trying not to focus on all the stares thrown her way....Jordan let her arm move on its own.

Blood spayed onto her black gown from the cut on the creatures neck as he chocked on his own blood.

It was darker than anything she had ever seen, like ink.

Arlo's long slimy arms fell slack to his sides as his lifeless body thumped on the ground.

The echo of it resonated in her ears for what seemed like centuries. Mob indeed, otherwise he would have spawned back for sure.....as she had sort of hoped would happen.

And just like that, her first test was over and Arlo's still body laid in a pool of blood before her shiny black heals.

*****

Tom POV-

It was starting to get dark already as Tom attempted to use the world communicator to get through to Jordan.

Like his first 300 attempts, he was unsuccessful.

A part of his brain knew Jordan could take care of herself, she had been able to stand against him and the others many times over during the purges. But none of them had used their full strength those times, and Tom knew that Dianite and his people weren't known for pulling punches.

Yet a darker and scarier though had been haunting his mind for hours.

His god has kissed her so carelessly in a way that seemed like he was comfortable with it. Sure he had kissed her once but Jordan had freaked out. Ever since that day it seemed as though they had ignored each other, but he could tell there was something odd with his god.

Those times Jordan had shown up at the nether for Mianite business she hadn't seemed the least bit afraid.

Even just a few hours ago, Jordan had walked into that room like she owned it. An action that would have gotten anyone killed.

And then she kissed him back...

Tom screamed off the top of his lungs.

Definitely an image he wanted to forget. Tucker and him had taken a few minutes to burn those images out of their minds once they returned, using some blinding potions like the drama queens they were. Futile attempt it seemed, because Toms till remembered it.

That had to have been the most terrifying thing he had ever seen.

Shaking off the grass that stuck to his pants, Tom stood up and made his way to the deactivated portal before him.

"Please don't die" he whispered, leaning into the pillar of stone before him.

It was then that he noticed the sound of crunching leaves behind him.

"Standing before that portal won't make it open you know? The lass said a week, only then will the priest open it" said a voice from a few feet behind him.

It was one of those pirates. What was his name? Russel? Rupert?

Rupert and their annoying gold-digging leader.

"Don't you teach your pets manners Capsize?" Tom said to the captain, completely ignoring the fuming guy next to him.

Capsize stiffened and held his friend back once Rupert began to draw out his sword.

Tom almost dared him to do it, he was aching for a fight.

"What are you doing here Thomas?" Capsize asked

"I could ask you the same thing? Are you waiting for Jordan to get back to trick her into giving you more gold or what? Are you that impatient to deceive her again?" Tom asked, furious now.

How dare that pirate question him when the guy had no idea what it was like to lose Jordan. To lose someone you loved.

"What were you thinking going into the nether in the first place!? You're the reason she's stuck there! If you didn't almost get caught, all would still be here!" Rupert asked.

Capsize nodded along and gave Tom a death glare.

"We went because Jordan needed something. She is looking for YOUR god's heart, something you lot should have been helping her with instead of isolating yourselves to bathe in your gold!" Tom said "This is on you too! Now Jordan might die because of that!"

The Captain froze, then charged at Tom too quick for him to evade, pushing him against the pillar of the portal.

Well, that hurt.

"Dont you dare question our loyalty towards Ianite! Or how much I care about Claire!" Capsize screamed, shoving Tom harder against the stone, not giving him any room to reach for his weapon.

"You bastard! Her name is Jordan!" Tom said before said Captain punched him square in the nose.

"You know what happened last time she was there! She was captured! How do you think this little plan of hers is gonna go down huh!?" Capsize screamed, throwing another punch

Blood spilling all over the lowed half of his face, Tom spit out some of it in Ezra's clothes before laughing.

"Is that why you're here? To remember the bad times when you were imprisoned? To feel sorry for yourself?" Tom said, ignoring the throbbing in his nose and left cheek.

Suddenly Capsize was pulled away from him and Tom did his best to stay up right, leaning against the stone behind him.

"Both of you, stop" Rupert said, holding his pathetic comrade by the shoulders to keep him from attacking again.

"She will be just fine. Dianite won't harm her" the pirate said, trying to calm Ezra

"How do you know that?" Tom added, wiping the blood off his face with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Because I know things both of you don't. Me and Claire had a little....discussion a while back. From what I know, he isn't gonna kill her" he said confidently

Tom couldn't keep his laughter in.

"You're forgetting I'm a champion of Dianite. He will. He has killed people for less." Tom said

"The priest knows what I'm talking about, and that guy Champwan too. Don't you think they would be freaking out a bit more if they knew she was in danger" the pirate asked, looking at both of them, daring them to contradict his ridiculous pirate logic.

"What exactly did you and Claire talk about?" Asked Ezra, giving up in struggling against Rupert's grip.

Tom was curious about that. That brat.

"Her name is Jordan" Tom added before Rupert could talk

Said pirate gave a long painful sigh as if begging the gods themselves to spare him from the misery that was his life, before settling down against one of the priest's trees.

"In simple terms, the girl and Dianite....." Before he could finish his sentence, he began to levitate off the ground

To his credit, the pirate wasn't creaming his head off, but he did have the same shocked look Ezra and Tom shared.

Declan made his way over to them from his home, his hand stretched out pointing at the currently levitating pirate.

"What are the bane of my existence and two pirates doing on my lawn at this hour?" Dec asked

Tom and Ezra backed off from the priest as he made his way past them to the levitating Rupert.

"Both of you, get out of here. You on the other hand" Dec said looking up that Rupert "why don't we chat over a nice cup of tea?"

The way he said it had enough venom that Tom knew it wasn't exactly a request, but he didn't feel bad for the pirate either, let him suffer at the hands of the priest.

Knowing that he would be turned into a woodland animal should he stay there any longer, Tom made his way out of the piest's residence and stomped his way home.

Once he threw himself on the bed, he grabbed one of Jordan's cloaks that she had left during her last visit, and held on to it tight.

Crying was an act of children, so he didn't cry. Instead, he hummed a song of hers, the one they had danced to once.

He hummed it until his eyes began to feel heavy and he fell pray to the realm of sleep.

*******

Ianite POV-

Though he knew he shouldn't, Ianite focused his magic as sleep claimed him.

At first, all he could see where clouds of all shapes and sizes floating all around him, his feet masked under the soft clouds below him.

There was no sky, no sun, moon, or stars.

Then, a small ray of light appeared a few feet in front of him the way it always did when his champion was asleep.

The god made his way over to it, caressing the ray of light before stepping through it.

Once the brightness dimmed and his eyes quickly adjusted, Ianite noticed a rather complex kitchen with instruments made of metal and counters made of the finest white marble.

It was a very spacious space with a large table at its center but within reaching distance of the rest of the kitchen.

Over the metal sink was a petite window that looked out into a chunk of grass and trees, beyond it lay a horizontal black path that continued on to the east and west of his position, far beyond his eyesight.

There were other homes next to where he was and on the other side of the path, all wooden, painted different colors but with the same general structure, like copies of themselves.

Tearing his view from the window, the god went to the door leading out the kitchen and found a cozy lounging area. A place that, unlike the spotless kitchen, looked cozy, warm, and lived in. It was filled with portraits on the cream colored walls, portraits of children and a couple at different times of their lives.

It had dents on the wooden furniture and stains on the carpeted floor.

There were toys on the floor and plates of meals not yet finished.

All the furniture in the room seemed worn somehow but comfortable and elegant. There were a few bookshelves to his right all across one of the walls, filled to the brim with colorful books of all shapes and sizes. This was a space that had been lived in and cherished by a happy family.

This wasn't like his old house that had seemed stuffy and almost frozen in time because of how neat and formal everything was.