Before Leon could get to Anna’s unconscious form, a sharp blur of blue zipped past his side. A sharp sting registered on his arm, and the next thing he saw was Kai standing protectively in front Anna’s body.

"Move." Leon growled, pointing his sword at Kai.

"That’s enough, Leon." Kai snapped. "You knew this expedition dangerous and you let her leave."

A wicked smile lit up Leon’s eyes. "What can I say to a royal order?"

"That’s bullshit. And now what? You want her dead?"

"Yes."

A dark shadow flirted across for sun before landing close to Anna’s body. Ray wasted no time taking off his jacket, even though his skin quickly reddened under the hot sun. He crouched down, wrapped the fabric around Anna’s Body and held her up.

Rays brow scrunched up with worry as he saw the strange orchids. The smell in the air was acidic at best, and he knew deep down that no one should be breathing in black spores for long. He looked down at Anna, and his heart snagged. She looked so vulnerable. Like he could drive a knife through her heart and she won’t even twitch.

"Is she breathing?" Kai asked, his voice tense and angry.

"Not much," Ray replied. "Her heartbeat is slow, but it’s there."

"Can you fly her to the palace?"

Ray couldn’t.

Flying down here in the blistering sun had already taken a toll on him. His eyes burned and watered, and a red rash started to spread across his skin. He needed to leave the sun, immediately.

He rose to his feet, holding her close. "I can." He replied firmly.

"Traitors." Leon hissed. His corruption flared even harder. "First it was Azul. Now you two? You’re still wearing her collars and you act like you give a shit about her?"

"You’re acting like a child, General." Kai said. "Why do you start fights you can never win? Didn’t the incident seven years ago teach you anything about going against her?"

Leon’s eyes blazed red. "How dare you?!" He roared. His hair turned into a mane, and his body began to expand.

"Get her out of here." Kai said, taking a cautious step back, his eyes focused on Leon.

"If you move, you go down with her." Leon shot back. His voice came out non human, deep and edged with evil.

Suddenly, a cold heavy object landed on his shoulder. The sharp smell of blood filled his nostrils, and from the gust of cold behind him, he knew who it was.

"If you touch her, you’ll die." Azul’s calm voice said from behind him.

Leon chuckled. "The original traitor. All of you sicken me. She unleashed her spores close to a settlement and you all protect her?"

"She had a reason for it." Kai said.

"Reason? That’s your excuse now? What, next you’ll tell me she’s having a change of heart?"

"Yes."

Leon laughed. "That’s what she wants you think! And you fools are too blind to see it. You think she’s good? You think she woke up and decided to be a better person? I have seen it happen countless times. The moment you let your guard down, she will destroy you."

"That doesn’t give you the excuse to kill her." Azul replied. "You’re her husband. Show some respect."

"You’re all blind."

"When are you going to stop this?!" Ray yelled. All eyes turned to him, but that didn’t stop him. "It’s enough already. You’ve failed three times in the past weeks. When will you stop, Leon?"

"When she’s six foot under."

He spun around, sword raised as he struck it down on Azul.

Ray watched the fight, sweat dotting his brow and the sides of his face. With Azul on their side, Leon was at a disadvantage. But it didn’t look like the General was backing down anytime soon.

He’s mad...

Leon dropped his weapon, and in seconds shifted into his beast form.

Azul followed suit.

The two massive beasts continued to fight. Claws and fangs flying in all directions. The more Leon attacked, the more erratic his glitching got. His body phased in and out of control, and his roars got louder. Azul’s pristine white fur stained with blood.

"Ray! Get her out of here! Now!" Kai’s voice cut through Ray’s mind, shocking him back to life.

He carried Anna and flew up into the sky. His balance wobbled and the world tilted on its axis, causing him to almost fall out of the sky.

A defaming roar shook through the forest.

Ray knew that if he fell by mistake, both he and Anna would be dead.

He glanced down, determined not to let Leon have his way. Not now or ever.

Anna stirred, a painful groan caught in her throat. She mumbled something Ray didn’t understand.

"It’s okay, I’ll get you to safety. Don’t worry."

****

Anna opened her eyes to the sounds of bickering.

"Who do you think you are? Brining flowers to the Princess? The Princess who mind you, is married to me?"

"I thought they looked pretty, and she’d appreciate them. Flowers are also given to sick people to wish them a speedy recovery. So I—"

"Hey, buddy, you better get out of here before I bite your pretty hair off."

"You’d better listen to him."

"Allow me to deliver the flowers first—"

"No! Get out! Or I’ll have the guards throw you out!"

Anna groaned, wishing she could clobber whoever was making such a noise. "Shut up.." she hissed under her breath, her voice so light she barely heard it.

But they did.

Ray was at her side first. He held up a glass of water, his voice soothing as he asked if she was okay.

Kai was next, helping her sit up and asking if she needed anything.

Anna sat up, blinking the confusion out of her eyes as her gaze travelled between their face. "Kai? Ray?" She asked.

Am I dreaming? Why are they nice to me now? Did I die and this is heaven?

"Drink some water first," Ray said and put the cup in her hands.

His fingers brushed hers, making her shiver. She mumbled thank you and drank some of the water.

"What happened?" She looked around. She wasn’t in her room, or the clinic for that matter. "Where am I?"

"You don’t remember anything?" Kai asked.

She shook her head. Her memories were fuzzy at best, and the last thing she recalled was rolling off a cliff. And then...

"Leon!" She gasped.

Kai and Rays face turned dark. "That idiot." Kai hissed.

"Excuse me, your highness? I brought these for you."

"You’re still here?! Cutie, permission to eat him?"

Anna rubbed her temples. "You all are giving me a headache."

"Alright. Get out. All of you. Give the Princess some space!" Ray got to his feet and faced Kai and Tristan. "Get out, now."

"You’re coming with us." Kai said and grabbed his arm, pulling him out.

"Hey! I’m not—"

"Yes you are, batty."

"I haven’t delivered my flowers yet—"

"You can eat your flowers, pretty boy. Bye cutie! Get well fast okay?"

Anna barely had time to react before Kai dragged everyone out and slammed the door shut.

She sat in the bed, her mind reeling, her body hurting like she’d been put through a meat grinder.

Slowly, the memories trickled back in. All of them, including the memories from Princess Orchid.

Anna now had a more than basic understanding of who the Princess Orchid was.

She loved her lab (which Anna now knew the location of). She also loved to take long walks in the garden especially in the rain. Her days revolved around work, experiments, reading, and the occasional domestic abuse. She loved to travel, her favorite empire being the south. She terrified servants and even her own parents.

She hated her sister, Princess Orchid and never visited her.

When it came to her husbands, she called Ray "Noctis" for whatever reason, and barely regarded him as a person. Drax was her favorite, as she was always seen with him. She barely paid attention to Azul. Kai was her favorite test subject, and she referred to him as "Mako" in her journals. And Leon...

Anna didn’t want to think about Leon.

In all, Princess Orchid was a wicked woman.

"You completed your task." A mechanical voice said.

Anna didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

"That earned you a lot of points, host. Well done."

"You were pregnant."

AI Orchid went silent. Then she said; "forget about that memory. It wasn’t important."

"If I’m doing this, at one point I’m going to have all your memories, won’t I?" Anna finally turned to look at her. "You were pregnant. Leila, that’s her name? Or rather, that was her name?"

Nothing showed on AI Orchid’s face. No acknowledgement of the fact, no emotion, nothing.

"What happened to her?" Anna asked.

"Perhaps a memory will reveal that. Would you like to use one?"

"I’d like to use a plot reveal."

"You cannot use a plot reveal for this."

"Why not?"

"You cannot use a plot reveal for this."

Anna paused.

She had a pretty good guess why. Perhaps this memory was too precious to the real Orchid.

It made Anna’s thoughts run wild.

Princess Orchid was pregnant. When? How? What happened? What was the time line? Is that why Drax was locked up? But why? What exactly happened?

So many thoughts rushed through Anna’s mind, all confirming one thing. She needed to have a talk with the snake beastman.

Subconsciously, her hands went to her stomach.

This body has carried life...

Somewhere inside her, she felt a twisted respect for Princess Orchid. Not only was she an evil woman and a genius, she was almost a mother.

Anna’s head hurt. The more she learned about this world and Princess Orchid, the more it felt like she needed two brains to be able to handle it all.

"How many of your original memories do I have now? Give me a percentage."

"17 percent."

Anna laid back on the bed, defeated. "Fuck."

"Would you like to view your bonus rewards? Your space is overflowing. You should check them out, host."

"Why was the detector able to hit you?"

"Would you like to check out your space, host?"

Anna swallowed a grunt of frustration. "I’ll check the fucking space when I want to."

"Fine. Do whatever you want."

Inadvertently, Anna’s mind went to Leon.

She recalled his face when she asked for help. The wicked glint in his eyes when he stepped back. He looked ravenous, like he couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into her and rip her to pieces.

A shudder ran through her and she hugged herself. She held a pillow to her chest and turned around, curling up into a ball.

Leon was a danger to her life.

Even in Princess Orchids memories, he was a wild card. Proud, arrogant, unyielding. He never hid his hatred for her.

After all, he killed her.

Anna looked at her hands. The last thing she remembered before passing out was the feeling.

The feeling of murder.

All her thoughts converged on one thing "kill"

She didn’t think about hurting, or defending herself. She thought about killing Leon. And everyone else.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She thought about the settlement that had inhaled her spores. She thought about Leon. She thought about Princess Orchid.

The feeling inside her couldn’t be shaken off. Something was different. Inside her, something had hatched and was growing. Something that wasn’t there before.

A feeling of foreboding washed over her.

What have I unleashed?

A soft knock sounded on the door. Followed by a familiar voice asking "May I come in?"

Anna shot to her feet, her eyes widening.