Recap: April explains her plan to expose and take down the king, Akia reveals to the king that she has no intention of joining the pageant. Later Akia meets a pageant girl name asuka who happens to be a siren and who she deems the greatest competition. Asuka finds out that they're not the only one looking for the Stone.

Akia's eyes opened to find Eleanor's boring into hers with her face inches away from her own. She jumps frightened by her friend's overwhelming closeness.

"I knew that'd wake you up." Eleanor said before poking Akia's cheek.

"So how'd it go with the king did he agree?" Eleanor asked and Akia frowned. She knew this was coming but she hadn't had time to prepare to discuss her failure.

"He wasn't in the mood for favors." Akia asked with a sigh.

"This isn't just a favor Akia, this is my life. If I marry Sir Michaelson I will be found hanging from my window. He's 56 with 5 wives already. You never got the marriage fear because you were locked away, even before here you were locked away, you lived in a fantasy. You're still living in a fantasy. It's horrific out there, my sister Claudine was married off to some old smelly sailor, she has extreme sea sickness. She's probably on a ship somewhere vomiting. Please Akialine, don't take this lightly. Do this for me."

"I understand Eleanor, those were unsavory choice of words I'm willing to help you whichever way that I can. The king and I have bad blood-" Akia said and Eleanor sits up.

"Why what happened what's you do?" She asked and Akia shook her head.

"Yesterday he invited me to breakfast. He made me a dress that doesn't exactly fit because my pregnancy has turned me into a talking cow."

"Oh? I hadn't noticed." Eleanor said staring directly at Akia's chest.

"He got angry with me for absolutely no reason at all when I was being cordial." Akia whined.

"He kicked me out!" Akia said and Eleanor's mouth gaped open.

"The king kicked you out of his chambers?!" Eleanor asked and I sighed

"I didn't even get a chance to ask him."

"What angered him."

"I don't know if I'm being frank, he found out I wasn't going to join the pageant and just snapped."

"Was he angry enough to ask for your head?"

"He wasn't angry when he asked for my body so who knows maybe this time he'll ask the gods to grant him my whole soul as retribution."

"Akia this is the king we are talking about." Eleanor said and Akia smacked her lips. Eleanor was shocked at her behavior. The young girl was usually very well behaved and she had never witnessed her perform such rude actions towards any one much less a king.

"I'm well aware. He ends my life and expects it to all be okay after a pageant?, I've never been the sort to be ungrateful but that doesn't seem like enough." Akia said as she plops down on her freshly made bed with white fur decorating it.

"Akia you're looking at this from the most twisted angle." Eleanor said plopping in besides me.

"I can not begin to fathom why you don't see this as a blessing. You are carrying the next king. That puts you hire than our queen once that baby is born you're not going to be a queen, no such a title would be too little for you. You'll be the queen mother. The queen will ask you for permission before she leaves the palace. She'll bow to you whenever you appear in her presence." Eleanor explained as if such a thing was common knowledge.

"That's only true if the king chooses to marry me besides I don't want to be queen much less the Queen mother." Akia said displaying such a visible disinterest at the premise.

"why not?" Eleanor asked.

"The Queen we have now is garbage. She only helps specific ranks of women. She helps the village girls by forcing them to convert and marry warrior men who rape and then don't even give them the benefit of being a wife, they just choose again. Then She sends guards to trick them into signing their lives over to slavery. She promises them very little in return for their entire lives. If you were the queen mother this land would shine brightly I know this as truth." Eleanor says and Akia has never heard anything like that before.

Her mother has always shielded her from such things, always made sure that Akia never thought too much of the darkness that covered the word like a dark cloak placed over curved glass; smothering it.

"Do you know this to be true?" Akia asked and Eleanor nods.

"The queen might not be aware of these warrior's intention but she should have included herself in these marriages she arranged to make sure they were safe but she didn't and she continues not to do so." Eleanor explains and Akia frowned.

"the kingdom may look good from up here, the king signing things off without haven't experienced it. Without being knowledgeable on how it effects us down there but you can change that Akialine. Don't you want to help everyone?" Eleanor said and Akia is taken aback.

She thought she was helping everyone already. By losing the child she hoped to prevent wars. Now she was being told that having this child was her way in to help people.

"Mother told me that this baby would bring upon war." Akia said holding her slightly protruding stomach.

"Of course the baby will bring upon war.. that's it's whole purpose. The baby was sent to erratic the moon side once and for all, how would that be possible if there is no last fight? Akia no matter the circumstances of how this baby was conceived, this baby is light. The child of the sun. He is yours to mold. You possess such a kind soul, how would it be possible that he'd possess something different?" Eleanor explains and it was like for the first time Akia was awake.

Her mother's past words, that drove her to the highest heights of fear had turned into the sweet comforting voice of her dearest friend.

"I'm counting on you and the sun king to make a difference okay?" Eleanor said rubbing Akia stomach.

Akia's faces shows she deep in thought before an overwhelming feeling of warmth flows through her.

"Akia?" Eleanor asked looking at her friend as her eyes fill will a gold color.

Eleanor is afraid as Akia's head falls back.

But she thinks this is good. She thinks this is the sun king.

The king is frustrated watching all the decorators decorate. He wants to cancel this whole thing and retreat to his throne to sulk but decides against it. Instead he continues practicing his speeches for the event.

Public speaking was in his blood but he had no idea what a pageant even was, He wanted to make such it looked like he did.

He was in the garden pacing back and forth as he read from the script he was given.

He looks up from the paper and sees a black silk kimono with a long black cloak covering the head of the owner.

"You there?" The king said, tone tough and king like despite his unhappiness.

The owner turns around and takes off the cloak. The king let's out a breath he wasn't sure he was even holding in.

The owner was beautiful, to the purest definition of the word.

"Your highness." The owner bows. The king is still in a trance as he watches the eastern woman bow.

"What are you doing walking about my palace wearing such a thing?, you might have been mistaken for a witch." The king said and the woman's head remains bowed.

"I extend my deepest apologies your highness, my skin burns easily in the blaze of the summer sun."

The king had noticed her porcelain skin. Bright and unblemished by a single dot.

" I suppose then I have no choice but to accept your apologies." The king said and the woman sends him a smile.

"May the sun continue to bless you my lord." The woman said waiting for the king to dismiss her but he seems unwilling.

"You're so beautiful." The king said and the woman smiles and thanks him for the compliment.

"How can someone be so beautiful?" The king said in a daze.

"If you say it then it must hold some truth your highness"

"All of my truth." The king said approaching the woman. He walks until he's face to face to her he places his hand on her cheek and she remains still. Doesn't move, doesn't even blink.

The king pressed his lips against hers completely lost in himself.

The woman, the siren he was kissing was ecstatic to know that their pheromones were strong enough to corrupt the king.

The siren wonders why not have a back up plan Incase the chase for the Stone is fruitless. He wonders why not have his claws dipped deep into the ruler of their kingdom.

The king pulls away, eyes still lingering on the lips he'd just tasted.

"What is your name?" He asked voice soft and comfortable.

"Asuka." The siren replied.

The siren that saved the sun king wonders for a second what it'd be like to birth a royal of their own.