Princess Belle let her body go and fell onto her couch from the exhaustion. "Have you heard such a more beautiful story, Thalm?" She asked the daughter of one of the more powerful baronesses.

Thalmaya smiled. "That was exotic. And with the entire restaurant looking so cool, the ambiance was just right. And . . . oh wow!"

"I like your choice of words!" Princess Belle laughed. "Yet, I never knew that so much could lie beneath a frozen figure."

Thalmaya looked at Princess Belle seriously. "Has Queen Feya ever let you see him before?"

Princess Belle's beautiful face turned into one of sternness. "As many things as I have accomplished for her government-NO! She has never let me witness his face before. But then again, I have never asked. Isn't he off limits to everyone, not just me?"

"Yes," Thalmaya nodded, "But you're her very own sister!" True, in terms of appearances, no one could deny that Belle and Feya were of one blood. Both had the most sensual lavender eyes and stunning figures. Both had the most amazing minds and talents. Both spent time sharpening their political and leadership skills, and as such, were well respected and trusted.

But that was where the similarities ended. Whereas Queen Feya used reason and logic to solve her problems, Belle leaned towards compassion. Queen Feya tended to hold onto her emotions, revealing only as much as necessary whereas Princess Belle was straightforward and clear with her thoughts.

Princess Belle thought hard. "I have never been that close to her, even though we're only five years apart. When she was here dealing with Meina's coup, I was actually away at school on mainland Cartasia. I wasn't here to help her when she needed me the most. And when I came back, the war with the U.S. had already started and I was whisked away to the battlefield to lead our soldiers on. Everything after that, you pretty much know."

"Well," Thalmaya began forming some plans in her mind. "Who else would know the whole story?" Her eyes suddenly brightened. "Meina's warrior! I bet she would know!"

Princess Belle laughed off Thalmaya's idea. "Look, I'm not that curious.. You can stop at this moment. Get those silly underhanded ideas out of your mind. If Queen Feya wants to tell the public, she will when she's ready. We'll only get her upset by delving into something that really has nothing to do with us."

"But aren't you at all curious as to what he looks like?"

At that moment, a guard quickly entered Princess Belle's chambers. Belle smiled at the guard, her long time friend, the one who has been loyal to her and has cared for her ever since she was a child.

"Yes, Rishele?" Princess Belle called to her guard.

The guard gasped of few times for air after running so wild through the palace to search for her master. "Queen Feya . . . the news is all over the palace . . . "

"Calm down Rishele!" Thalmaya was trying to make sense of her words. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"That Queen Feya is going to release him from the carbonite chambers tonight!" Rishele managed to blurt out in one single breath.

Princess Belle and Thalmaya both widened their eyes at the news. "Do you know why?" Thalmaya asked for Princess Belle.

"No, but I've heard that the King tried his best to keep a straight face when he heard the news!" Rishele said secretively.

Thalmaya laughed. "That bastard!"

Princess Belle shot Thalmaya a warning glance. "Let's keep our opinions to ourselves. As much as I'd like to second that, I do not want to open a can of worms in this palace. It has been peaceful for the past five years so let's try to maintain it, okay?"

Princess Belle directed her attention back to Rishele. "Do you know when the Queen is going to announce it?"

Rishele nodded. "Tomorrow, after he has been revived. Oh, and Queen Feya asked for the scientists to clear his memory."

Princess Belle looked keenly at Rishele. "Why would she do that? What is it she doesn't want him to remember?"

"Or what is it that she's trying to hide?" Thalmaya blurted.

Princess Belle once again shot Thalmaya a stern glance. "Seriously, I might not be able to protect you one day. That mouth of yours is way too active, too uncontrolled!"

"Sorry," Thalmaya said sheepishly.

"I don't know," Rishele said honestly.

"That's okay. She is the Queen after all. Nobody can really question her," Princess Belle replied as she started to walk out of the living room to her bed chambers.

"Where are you going?" Thalmaya asked.

"It has been exhausting today. I want to read a little, shower and then go to bed." With that, Princess Belle disappeared, leaving Rishele and Thalmaya to do as they please.

The two scientists busily worked through the night, preparing for the revival of the handsome youth. As they worked, they became more excited. At last they would see and hear for themselves what this youth would be like in reality. For five years they had imagined and hypothesized about his real nature. Now they would see if their thoughts were accurate or not.

One scientist quickly took the body and placed it on the sliding table while the other carefully determined the coordinates of his hippocampus on the computers. Queen Feya had ordered them to clear his memory so they would have to use laser beams to burn through his brain and destroy his memory center.

Both were very skilled scientists and technicians so they did not feel any doubts or nervousness. To them, the work was too easy. Once the scientist who was positioning the body was done, she went ahead and prepared the antidote for injection so that once the youth's blood started to flow again, the antidote would circulate his body and prevent the poison from reaching his heart.

Both scientists worked with the fervor of a wild tiger and the concentration of a cobra that was ready to lash out at its prey. Within half an hour, they were set. Yet since both were so involved in their work, neither noticed as a figure sneaked into the laboratory and sat behind the laser machine near the sliding table where Nick's body lay upon, waiting to be revived.

"All coordinates are set. Laser is primed and ready," the scientist who was working on the computers called out to the other.

"And the antidote is in place, ready to be injected. Everything is set. The heater is ready."

"All right, let's start the laser first." With that, the first scientist pressed the EXECUTE button and laser beam formed, running through the youth's brain. "What the. . . ?" the scientist yelled out as she realized that the body had been suddenly shifted. "The body has been shifted. I'll have to quickly reset the coordinates!" But as she said that, the scientist knew that it was too late. The damage had been done and nothing she could do could rectify it.

Quickly the other scientist ran to the sliding table to see why the body had been shifted only to see a dark figure run out the back side of the room. She was prepared to run after it, but the scientist near the computer called out to her. "Don't follow that person. The program is in place. We have to see to it that the antidote gets injected and the frozen body is thawed correctly. Let the person go for now. We'll report it."

And soon enough, Nick's body was completely thawed and fell lifeless on the sliding table. One scientist stabilized the machine while the other ran over to where his body lay. Both looked at each other in concern.

"At least his body is stabilized. Blood and vital stats reveal normal readings. The antidote had worked and the poison is no longer affecting his body. But . . . " The scientist bit her lips.

"So what did the laser actually wipe out from his brain?" The other scientist asked, worried.

"Nothing too important compared to what might have happened. Had I not changed the coordinates, the laser would have hit his frontal lobes and destroyed his sanity, personality and thought processes." The scientist said slowly.

"But what actually was destroyed?" The other one pressed, the panic in her voice.

"His . . . umm . . . vision."

"So what are we going to tell Queen Feya?" She was slightly relieved at the answer.

"The truth, I guess."

>>>>>

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