The Chief of the Dark Moon Empire, grinning, knocked on the door of his mistress, and then, without waiting for a response, he blasted the door open, only to jump and yelp when a bullet shot almost missed his foot.

"HOLY-" he exclaimed, but the Darkmoon mistress didn't lower the gun, pointing the nuzzle directly at Max's head. The sight of the rage-filled woman would have been enough to frighten someone till they wet their pants, but Machenzie knew the Darkmoon Mistress better than anyone else, and that the Cheshire grin never left his face.

"Explain-" Krystal said in a tone that made her most loyal companion sit up from his position as Kartos gazed back and forth between his mistress and his trainer, conflicted whether to attack the latter or to ignore the situation like he mostly did while ignoring the endless tantrums thrown by his mistress. Then finally, he decided to do what he thought was best as he got back to his sleepy position, snuggling into the blanket behind Krystal's back, ignoring everything going around the room.

The room was silent. The only sounds were the inhalation and exhalation of air, the ticking of the clock, or the slow hisses made by the boa-constrictor in the background, who too was great at avoiding anything dramatic happening around him.

Max raised his hands, taking a few steps into the room, "There, there Pumpkin, we are humans, there is no need to act like hooligans, is it-" he said in a voice that sounded as if he was taunting a teenager for drinking and driving. As he approached the nuzzle of the gun and sighed in relief when Krystal let the gun go off her hand, Max placed the gun on the bed and looked at her to meet her eyes.

"Why? Why did-" Krystal mumble something slowly in a voice so low that it may have gone unheard if the room had not been pin-drop silent in the first place.

Max said nothing but raised his hand to caress Krystal's cheek, and his thumb wiped a tear as it fell from Krystal's eye. "Pumpkin," he said soothingly, making the Darkmoon Mistress gulp and look down at her hands.

"Why?" she repeated it now in a much louder voice, but still it came out in a whisper.

"Because I don't want to lose you-"

"But I already changed the plan." Krystal snapped and looked up, which was her mistake as her heart throbbed seeing tears in her guardian's eyes.

"What is the guarantee if you wouldn't have changed the plan once again?" He asked, and Krystal opened her mouth to deny it, but closed it again as he continued, "What if you had made your mind to follow your previous so-called plan again tomorrow, thinking, no-no-overthinking about the imaginary consequences again?" he said, as he held Krystal's hands firmly in his old wrinkled ones, "What if you decided to go away again, away from me? You know, the moment you made me vow to not object to the ridicules plan of yours, you have pierced my soul so that the pain almost killed me-,"

"Max-"

"You are the most precious thing to me, pumpkin-"

"Max-"

"You are the only person in this world whom I love, I would die for you, but you made me so helpless by making my pledge to not to interfere-" A single tear dropped from Machenzie's eye, and he sniffed his nose to stop himself from breaking when he was the one who was supposed to be the strong one.

"I am sorry-" Krystal said, looking into his eyes, which were now red. Max ignored her and continued.

"T-Then when I thought I have l-lost you, You told me you have changed the plan," he paused and kissed back of Krystal's hand, "-I got elated, I got so happy, I got back my air, "Max whispered, making Krystal gasp.

"-I- wanted to make sure that y-you wouldn't change your mind tomorrow.

They both fell silent, and Kartos was now watching them with interest as if expecting another tantrum. Krystal shifted slightly, looking down at her hands, joined by Max. She gulped.

"But- I don't want to " she whispered and closed her eyes.

"Krystal- look at me-" Max commanded, and hesitantly she did. She looked up from her lashes to meet his eyes, her eyes so vulnerable that made Max's heart clench.

He freed her hands, and then again caressed her cheek. "You don't have to, " he said sincerely, which made Krystal flinch.

"I-I- have to"

"No. You. Don't "he again said, slowly pausing between each syllable, which somehow convinced the Darkmoon mistress to believe the unbelievable.

"You are young and the most powerful woman I have ever seen. You will and will live your life as you want, Okay?" He stopped, and Krystal reluctantly nodded.

"B-But-"

"No, Buts- Pumpkin-" He cut and glared at her coldly and then sighed, "Now, now, enough, so both ay?" He wiggled his brows and then Krystal groaned and hid her face in her hands, making Max chuckle.

"I- I am not sure-" She whispered, making the man stop grinning.

"Of what, Pumpkin?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of their approval of my decision-" she answered, not moving her hands off her face.

*Smack*

"Owwwwwiieee! Old man, what's that for!" She groaned, rubbing her head where Max smacked her because of her stubbornness.

"For thinking like a hooligan, I have trained you better-" He shook his head, making Darkmoon Mistress glared at him.

"Have you tried to discuss this with them?" he asked, and Krystal blinked and blinked again, making him sigh.

"-Just ask them-" He stood up from his position and then crouched down to kiss Krystal's forehead.

"I love you, my son-" he murmured, patting Krystal's head, making her sigh.

"I love you too, granny-" she replied cheekily and Max chuckled and pointed towards the tablet resting on the stool beside the bed. Krystal followed his gaze and her eyes went wide in horror as she watched the screen.

"Byeeeee! Byeeee! Pumpkin- enjoy-" he jumped, turned around, and then half backed away, waving back dramatically, dashing towards the door.

Krystal immediately threw a pillow in his direction. "NOOO! COME BACK! YOU CREATED THIS MESS!" she yelled as her other eye fixed on the tablet's screen, showing two women standing anxiously outside her door.

"Pumpkin, I am sane enough to not come between you and your wild choices of girls-" he replied, grinning with one hand on the doorknob.

"JUST GIVE ME SOME TIME! KEEP THEM OUT!" She threw another pillow at him, which he ducked, but then nodded, unlocking the door and quickly locking it back again. Nobody noticed that the face of the Darkmoon Mistress went red as she threw her face on the quilt, startling Kartos as he jumped on her back, making her groan in agony even more than she already was.

"Baby! What I am supposed to do!" Krystal patted Kartos' head as she watched Max say something to Sandra and Adriana, which made both of them yell something which she had no intention of listening, a squeak from mice filled the room as Sheshu decided it to be the perfect time for a meal. Kartos licked Krystal's face, making her sigh as she watched all three people leave her door.

"I need to do something-" she said, and Kartos licked her face again.

"Ugh! Stop it-" She said, picking up the tablet, quickly sending a message, and then wiping her face.

"Baby, are you ready for a flight?" She cooed at him as he excitedly stood up to wag his tail.

"I need a shower first-"

****************

Adriana just patted Sandra's back, not knowing what to say. It had been thirty-seven minutes of them sitting on the couch in the dining room, and Max, wanting to give them some privacy but not really doing so, was sitting in the other corner with a bucket of popcorn and some anime playing on his MacBook, she watched him tossing popcorn into his mouth and missing it only to hit it on his chin. In normal circumstances, Adriana would have laughed and joined the old man's fun, but her heart was still pacing as if she had just had a roller-coaster ride. The adrenaline in her body was making her anxious and the reluctance of the source to meet her was not doing a good job of fixing that.

Her heart throbbed as her mind filled with terror, recalling each syllable of the letter they had read.

'She was going, she was just going away, never looking back at us... at me...' she shook her head-

'NO, No, no, she-m she - mentioned changing her plan-' Adriana gave another glace at Max who was completely tension-free and enjoying his movie, he could have been more worried if she didn't- Hell! He would have been summoning a whole group of assassins to go after Krystal-

She shuddered at the thought and looked at Sandra, who was just sitting, and, well... sitting. Her face was blank, devoid of any human emotions, her cocoa-brown eyes, which were just feeling empty, staring at the painting she had made. She was not responding even in the slightest, no matter how much Adriana tried to pat or start any conversation, not that she could have made any. She was still startled, and she couldn't even imagine how hard that would have hit her.

The clicking sounds of heels filled the room, and when the lady whom she hated for almost no reason other than her gaze at her maybe potential girlfriend- entered the room, Adriana felt a weird flutter in her stomach even at the thought, and she suppressed the urge to sigh. The last person she wanted was the pseudo-innocent assistant in the same room.

Much to Adriana's annoyance, she stopped in front of her, but before she could even snap at her because she just felt like it at the moment, Sandra squeezed her hand and for the first time in the past forty-three minutes, looked up, raising a brow at the lady.

The assistant bowed a little and then smiled, looking up, which made her even more irritated.

"Mistress wants you both in her room-" Before she could even complete the sentence, Adriana jumped from the couch and dragged a more willing Sandra out of the room towards the door of their co-habitation room.

They reached the door and even before she could do anything, Sandra clenched the knob and pushed it open.

The first thing she noticed was that there was no one in the room, neither the dog nor his owner. Then she turned her gaze towards the corner and stared at the empty glass cage.

What the fuck is going on?

"A-Adriana-" Sandra called her name, and she turned. Sandra was standing in front of the dressing table staring at something. She rushed towards her and tilted her head.

"What are these?" she whispered, standing behind Sandra, watching two leather diaries resting on top of one another, with a single black and white rose placed on top of them.

Not answering the question, Sandra picked up the roses, and down them was a sticky note placed with familiar handwriting. Sandra gulped and handed the roses to Adriana and then picked up the note. Adriana leaned over her shoulder to read the note along.

- Change and come to the backyard in 15 minutes. Take the diaries with you. Don't start reading them now or you will be late.

-Krystal

Sandra raised her brows and turned towards Adriana, who shook her head and shrugged. Sandra sighed and placed the note back on the diaries.

"Well...Let's get change, can we?"

***********************

"Look, sir, I am asking you again, where is she?-" Brett gritted his teeth but maintained his best polite tone as he addressed a way too distracted DarkMoon chief enjoying some kdrama. Behind him, Grayson snickered.

Uninterested, Max paused the drama and raised his face.

" As I have told you before, Mr. Evans, both Miss Styles and Miss De Luca are safe-" He replied in a monotone.

"BUT WHERE IS SHE" Brett exploded, but that didn't help at all as Max waved his hands in front of him dismissively, and putted back his headphones to continue playing the drama.

Brett was fuming as he tried to attack the man without thinking, only to get trapped from behind by a firm pair of muscles.

"There, there squirrel, calm down. We both know we won't get any answers, do we?" Grayson whispered into his ear, making Brett instinctively huff and pout.

"He won't even tell us for how long-"

********************

Sandra's eyes went wide and Adriana gasped, dropping the roses in her hands, and Sandra clutched the diaries even tighter as they watched the jet aircraft standing ready to take off in front of them.

Sandra, shaking her head, bent over and picked up the roses and re-handed them to Adriana, who seemed to be still in shock.

Then the door of the jet opened, and Kartos jumped down the stairs and ran towards them, and then jumped on Adriana, making her stumbled back. Sandra grabbed her shoulders from one hand and glared at the over-enthusiastic beast acting like a puppy.

"Owww-baby-You need to be careful sweety-" Adriana patted his head as he wagged his tail for her.

"Where is Krystal?" Sandra asked, and then the dog stood up, turning around, and started going back towards the plane, as if he was inviting them to follow.

"Come on-" Adriana said as he unintentionally grabbed Sandra's hand and dragged her behind the dog.

They entered the door and then again, Adriana gasped, as the compartment was anything but a normal plane compartment. Each and every corner was decorated with elegant white orchids and lilies. A black leather couch and armchairs were placed on either side of a glass table on which a bouquet of red roses rested, contrasting the whole color theme of the compartment.

Sandra turned in the opposite direction and blinked and blinked again, seeing Sheshu was sleeping on the armchair, and then she felt something wet over her ankle and looked down to find Kartos had licked her and then raised her head towards the couch. She nodded and walked towards the couch now, dragging a dazed Zodiac Mistress on her arm.

"Ladies, welcome onboard. We are expected to be in the air in approximately five minutes' time. I ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time. I also ask that your seats and table trays be in the upright position for take-off. Please turn off all personal electronic devices, including laptops and cell phones. Enjoy your flight. " An artificial female voice announced and confused, Sandra started doing her seatbelts after resting the diaries on the table. Adriana did the same, and Kartos settled himself beside Adriana where a supposedly dog-belt was built in, and Adriana, chuckling, did his belt too.

"Still, where is she?" Sandra again asked the dog, but he ignored her as if he didn't know what she was asking, making her roll his eyes.

"A prat of the dog-" She muttered and Kartos growled at her, making Adriana laugh.

Sandra glared at the giggling Zodiac Mistress, making her hiccup between laughs. "Sorry, baby-" Adriana said, smiling and cooing at the dog, making Sandra huff.

The flight took off and Sandra closed her eyes, recalling the events of the very day. She inhaled the air filled with the aroma of roses and lilies, creating a kind of soothing effect.

"Ladies, the Captain has turned off the Fasten Seat Belt sign, and you may now move around the cabin. However, I always recommend keeping your seat belt fastened while you're seated."

Sandra sighed and opened her eyes again, and Adriana was watching the bouquet with a weird intensity.

"What's wrong, Angel?" Sandra asked, and Adriana smiled and shook her head.

"Nothing-" she replied and then unbuckled the dog's seat belt.

"So..." Sandra trailed off, looking at the diaries, and Adriana nodded.

The one of the two was seeming way older in appearance in the contrast to the fresh leather black cover of the other one, Sandra picked up the old one first and Adriana scooted towards her, and then she felt another body slither on her back and smiled at Sheshu as he coiled himself over her arms.

Sandra took a deep breath and then opened the diary to find a few pages bookmarked with the new sticky notes. She turned the pages to reach the first sticky note, which was also the first entry.

Dear fucking imbecile dairy,

As you can see, I'm not in a good mood today. Well, I don't know why the fuck I'm talking to you like you are a genuine person who can understand me. Fuck it, no one can or will be able to understand me. I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't even think straight, but Rahina said It would make me feel better to write a fucking diary as if you could reply to me as if a mere notebook could make me feel happy... Happy LOL, what's that?

I have felt nothing like that and I know I should fucking move on. The clan wants a fucking leader and here I am after fucking two months of the incident. Here I am living on drugs and herbs, depending on Max. When Rahina treats me like a child or as if I am made up of glass, I will shatter on a single word when they don't know that they can't break me even more than I am already am.

How the fuck am I supposed to shatter even more when I already quantized so many times that I became indivisible?

Ughhh! I'm so angry at myself for being so pathetic... I can't show this side to the world. They will not see me as an ideal leader who can skin them apart in just a minute. They will see me as a weakling, a weed in business, and weeds are just thrown away. I have to do what I must. I will kill him. I will rip out the part apart which made him think he was above me, above my pri...

Ugh! nevermind she doesn't even believe me. I mean, I should understand her, right? She was not thinking rationally. I had the knife, so she was right to throw me out. Right? She was not wrong to blame me, to break my trust and break our love, was she?

I need to stop mourning. I need to be a leader. My father would not be proud if he saw me here mourning over childish things where I am supposed to bring up the torn empire together, make up the top, show the bitch and make him pay.

I want to kill Rahina, she makes me recite, again and again, make me recall the day again and again about how weak I am, how anybody can torment me, how I am never supposed to get loved, I want to die but if an afterlife exists my Father would be disappointed, disappointed that I am that pathetic that I couldn't even revenge him, What would Max say? How would he react when he gets to know that I am so weak, so unworthy of the blood of DarkMoons, that I let the bitches torment me? So pathetic that I couldn't stop them when they fucked me again and again, telling me how much of a bitch I am, pulling my hair, telling me how sexy they are, pissing on me, making gashes, making me feel the pain that I deserved.

Sandra choked when she felt someone wipe her tears and turned to look at Adriana, whose eyes were on the verge of crying saying nothing else. Sandra turned the book's marked pages, and they both read a few more entries about the nightmares, about what happened on the very day, and how much she indulged herself in the underworld, which she clearly displeased, by each and every entry, Sandra was feeling raged and pathetic, she wanted to revive her cousin-dearest and then torture him, torture him for years and years using each and every creation she once designed for her father. She felt Adriana's fingers tighten around her arms when she closed the first diary, and without saying anything else, she picked up the second.

She found the diary tagged in the middle and then she flipped the pages and read the entry. The entry had seemed to start with a beautiful poem, which made her sniff her nose.