A wreck within

Chapter 18

After 5 days, Freya finally reached Celestia. She remembered how Kiara used to describe her home. But Celestia was nothing like the stories. The castle was burned, and the streets were filled with homeless men.
She was walking quietly, trying not to draw anyone's attention. On top of her white armor she was wearing a black hooded cape coat. She left her horse outside Celestia. He had her sword hanging by her hand.
A man grabbed her right arm. He must have seen Freya's emerald necklace. "You don't look like you are from here little girl"
Freya was not on the mood. She punched the guy on his nose and started running.
She was trying to understand how the most beautiful place in the world ended up like that. It was sad and upsetting. Kiara left New York to save that place, not destroy it. Did Kiara even managed to reach Celestia? Maybe with no monarchy Celestia got demolished or conquered by enemies.
Freya stood Infront of the gates of the castle. The castle used to be white. But now it was dark grey and black. Freya suspected that there was a fire. And everywhere you could find graffiti. They said rude messages like "Stop the Monarchy" or "Kill Amelia".
The gates were open. Freya some guards who tried to reach her direction. Freya did not have time to negotiate so she managed to stun the guards. The castle smelled like a junkyard. The young hero had the impression that Kiara did not take her throne. Something fishy had happened.
Kiara reached Celestia during the late evening. She started feeling uneasy. The guards were staring at her frightened. Kiara went in the throne room.
Her mother was sitting on the throne. "Mum?" she asked with a smile on her face.
Amelia did not seem happy to see her daughter. "You're back"
Kiara felt the urge to start running. "It's the ring." She took a deep breath. "It came and found me. I knew I had to come back. Aren't you happy?" Kiara's smiled shifted.
Amelia sighed. She went to Kiara's side. Amelia smiled and suddenly Kiara felt happy. "Guards? Take her to the dungeons"
Kiara started panicking "What? Mum?" she cried
Two guards grabbed Kiara from each arm. "MUM. MUM, PLEASE"
Freya was wondering around the castle. It seemed hunted. She climbed the staircase. She found the prisons. It was unsettling how packed they were. People were screaming and begging Freya to let them out.
Freya started shouting Kiara's name, but she did not get any answer. All the cells were in a big corridor around 1 kilometer long. At the end of the corridor, Kiara was there alone dying in the corner. "Holy sh*t" Freya quickly found the keys and was trying to make Kiara wake up.
Kiara started coughing. She seemed confused. "Freya what are you doing here?" she questioned.
Freya had a serious look on her face. "I am here to save you of course. We need to go back to New York. They need us" Freya responded but Kiara did not seem happy.
"This is my home. I cannot come with you. My place is here" Kiara said but it was crystal clear that she didn't mean it.
Freya stared with sadness at her side. "I understand that it is your duty, but you cannot be a prisoner. You have to take your throne. Then you are doing nothing but dying. I can't let you down here" Freya added.
"It isn't that simple. You were right" Kiara replied. Her lip was quivering.
Freya had the impression that they were talking about different things. "What do you mean? There must be something that I was right about. There are a lot of things that I was right about. Which thing are you referring to?"
Kiara seemed a little bothered and felt like she did not want to answer her question. "The day I first moved to James'. She was staring at the floor. "You were sure my dad was killed by someone from the inside. She wanted him dead. And so did his enemies. An organization with trained assassins came and killed him. My mum was behind everything. That was why she looked very tense that day. She wanted to kill him.  I was not supposed to learn all the stuff and that is why I am locked down here. And they are afraid of me. They know that if I ascend to the throne, they will all end up dead. And they will. But I can't get out of here." Kiara exasperated.
Freya was trying to figure out a plan on how to help Kiara ascend to her throne. "You have to talk to your people. They deserve to know that their queen is a liar and a traitor. You can go on the big balcony and tell them what was going on" she suggested.
"I am not doing that. I love my mum. I can't destroy her life" Kiara said dead serious.
Freya stared dumbfounded at her. "Kiara, she has already destroyed her life. You have to tell them why the king is dead. The throne is yours. Your mother did something terrible. And I am pretty sure that the only reason she wants you alive is so she can have you as her little dog. You can't please her. Stand up for yourself."
"Freya. That. Is. Not. True." Kiara said but she could understand that it was the cold truth. "How are you supposed to hurt a person you love? I can't lose my mum too." Kiara confessed. She sighed. "I know you don't have a good relationship with your mother, but I want to try and fix what is broken. Not just forget her. By shoving everything under the rug, makes everything worse.
"Darling she is lost. You cannot save her. Try and save your own life instead. You have to stand up to yourself. I know that you are a fighter deep inside. You may feel insecure or dependent from others, but you know what you want. You know that it is a noble thing to do. Would you rather let your father's death to be in vain? You are his legacy after all. You are everything he had. It's time to be your father's daughter." Freya said with determination.
Kiara was very upset. "I can't torture my mum"
Freya slapped Kiara to her senses "Kiara concentrate! She wants you on her side. She made up everything. Queens like her exist for centuries now. She wants power. She knows that you are more powerful than her and she wants to drain you. She may be your mum, but you are more important. And you have to be selfish every once in a while. And above all think about yourself."
Kiara stayed silent "That's not how we are going to do it. We cannot tell them the truth about the queen. At least not yet. We have to take her away from the throne in a much simpler way." Kiara told Freya to come closer to her. "We have to get the ring of the heir. It is a magic ring that goes to the heir of the throne after the King dies. It is in my room. But there are at least a dozen of guards there. It will be impossible for us to get in."
"I don't think so. I have some tricks that can help us." Freya said with a cunning smile on her face. The two girls sneaked out of the prison. That place had worse security than Morgan's house.
Kiara was filled with Adrenaline. She did not even care what Freya's tricks were. She was a rebel. She was feeling wild and free. They left the prison very easily. But as soon as they reached the staircase 2 guards were there. Freya took out her sword and stunned them. "Freya we are not supposed to kill people" Kiara exclaimed.
"I didn't kill them. I stunned them. There is a difference. Keep moving." Freya replied. Kiara was inspired by Freya's new self.
A dozen of guards were in there way but with delicate movements, Freya managed to stun all of them. Soon, they reached the bedroom. But the door was locked. "Let me guess. You don't have the keys." Freya said after pressing the doorknob.
"Of course not! I was in a cell for the past month" Kiara complained.
They hear footsteps behind them. It was Kiara's mother. "Mother" Kiara tried to say with the coldest tone. She was not good at hiding her emotions.
Freya has had a lot of experience with not being sensitive on maternal problems. She spoke straight to her. "We want the keys. I am having a terrible month and believe me you don't want to see me angry." She said with a steady voice.
A guy appeared behind Amelia. It is Rodolfus. "Here is not Melania Freya. We have the control here"
Freya laughed. "Confidence is more important than control. And believe me you have none of both. You nearly shitted your pants when you left Melania. Amelia, the keys. Now."
"There is no chance, I will let you corrupt my daughter." Amelie said and turned to Kiara's side. "I didn't expect you were hanging out with people that were a bad influence on you. I always thought James had great friends with values."
Freya rolled her eyes. "Is this supposed to annoy me? I did not expect Natalie having friends of your level. And shame on you. You have the best daughter on this planet, and you lock her in the prison? I know a few people who would be very angry by that small detail. I am not afraid to spread it. I am not Kiara. I will go and tell Natalie and to all Celestia if I have too. I am not afraid of anyone. And I have no boss" Kiara was feeling very uncomfortable by the dialogue between Freya and her mother.
"How broken are you, little girl?" Amelie said dead in the eye to Freya.
"You cannot imagine. More shattered than a mirror. But it made me stronger. So strong that I will surprise you. I can hurt you. Like glass shards when you step on them barefoot" Freya said. Rodolfus flinched. "I took down that little chicken that is standing beside you. I want to see how long it will take me to take both of you down."
Amelia laughed sarcastically "Are you supposed to threaten me?"
"I am not threatening anyone." Freya said. "I am just telling you what I am going to do if you don't give me the keys for Kiara's room. And Rodolfus can tell you that I never lie. It's called a statement but you can receive it as a warning"
Kiara stepped her foot. "Enough. Mother I am sure Dad was the perfect husband, but you wanted more. More from everyone. Including me. You did not want me to have a normal life. You did not want me to be on the same level as the others. You thought that nobody could be the best company for me. I am sure my friends here, passed an audition from you. But I will not let you control my life for any longer. Freya is my friend and I am with her. Give me the keys or you will regret it forever."
"I am not afraid of you. I do not need you, but you need me. You will die on your own." Amelia started lecturing Kiara. "You don't know how cruel the world is" Kiara did something unexpected.
She grasped Freya's sword and put it on her mother's throat. "Give me the keys. NOW. I AM NOT AFRAID TO CUT YOU OPEN" Kiara screamed.
Freya was stunned. Kiara was going to kill her mother. Amelia was petrified. Rodolfus ran away.
She put her hand in the pocket of her dress and gave Kiara the keys. "Stay with her and make sure she won't do anything stupid. I am going to get the ring." Kiara walked into her room.
She immediately found the box in the place she had last seen it. She took the ring and put it on her finger.
"Let us go to the balcony. Take her with you." Kiara bossed Freya. Freya seemed happy that Kiara was standing up for herself. Although she hated getting orders from others. The three ladies went to the big balcony that viewed the whole kingdom. "People of Celestia. I am your King's daughter and the heir to the throne. My mother has done some things wrong, but I am here now. I am your queen and your safety is my duty."
The civilians started cheering and crying. But soon they started shouting "KILL AMELIA!"
Kiara took a deep breath. "My mother and the responsible for my father's death are being imprisoned this moment. I am not murderer. I will make things the way they were but with the right way. I do not want anyone's blood on my hands"
All the arrogant people who were the enemies of the King were in the castle. They went to the prison along with the queen. "You will regret this Kiara. You don't hurt people." Amelia said before they locked her up. Kiara just turned her back at her.
Freya locked inside Rodolfus. "Goodbye my King" She said and started laughing like hyena.
"What are we going to do now?" Freya asked. She enjoyed Kiara standing for herself.
"We are going to get some papers and we will go save our friends. I will not let anyone helpless. Follow me"
They reached the higher tower of the castle. "What are we looking for?" Freya questioned trying to catch her breath.
"Every file with top secret written on it. One of them will reveal the name of the person who killed my father." Kiara said.
"They didn't kill just your father. Everyone had problems. James' father was shot. James went crazy. Sebastian is in prison and I got stabbed." Freya said with the most casual tone.
"I left you for a month! Why did all that stuff happen in a month." Kiara freaked out.
"Oh no. Those stuff happened in the spam of a week. I don't what has happened since we left"
Kiara continued searching for the papers "Freya I think I found the right paper." Kiara said shocked.
"Does it say who did it?" Freya asked
"We have to go back at New York as soon as possible. If we don't arrive at time everyone and I mean everyone will be dead." Kiara panicked.
"Let's go" Freya said but Kiara did not move. "Is there a problem" Freya asked her a bit worried.
"You go ahead. I will follow. I want to fix some things before I go back to New York" Kiara said.
"Alright. See you soon" Freya left Celestia. She was going home at last.