Emerson's POV

Mark was sobbing. Jack was trying to comfort him. Wilford was pacing across the room. Dark was curled into a ball on a chair. Anti was mumbling to himself in a corner. Everyone was acting differently, all because of one thing that happened.

"...what can I do to help?" I tried asking Wilford.

He stopped pacing and looked at me. "Just... never give up. Stay he and be the princess. Keep taking the lessons. Eventually become queen. Do what Elaine didn't."

"But there has to be something else that I can do!"

"There's nothing else." He sighed. "You never knew your mother like we did. There really is nothing you can do to help us."

I turned to walk out of the room. Before my hand touched the handle, I turned back to him. "Please, just... let me know if something pops up."

He nodded. "I will. Goodbye, Emerson."

I left the room, walking the halls. I wish there was something else I could do than just be princess. I wish I was older, and I could actually do something.

"Emerson!" I heard someone yell from down the hall. I turned towards the voice, smiling when I saw who it was.

"Dad!" I quickly ran towards him, tackling him in a hug.

"Oh, thank God you're okay!" He quickly pulled away. "You are okay, right? Not hurt at all?"

I giggled. "I'm fine, dad, I promise."

He took my hands in his. "Em... why didn't you tell me about this? Why did you run away?"

I sighed. "I... I was scared. I didn't want to hurt you. And I just found out about all of this before the ball. It's all pretty new to me."

We walked down the hallway together. "Okay, I guess. Just don't do that to me ever again. You really scared me!"

I shook my head. "I didn't mean to scare you. I wanted to protect you. I thought that distancing myself would keep you safe. Obviously not, though. That was a stupid idea."

Dad nodded. "Okay. Enough about that. What's wrong with Elaine? What happened?"

I shook my head. "I don't know much yet. All I know is she and her supposedly girlfriend are dead, and they're all acting differently."

"Emerson!" Someone else yelled. I looked behind us, seeing Erik and a lady that looked to be about dad's age running towards us. "What happened? You just suddenly left." Erik stopped in front of me and gave me a hug. "At least you're okay."

I blushed, hugging him back. "I'm fine, Erik, but thanks for your concern." I turned towards dad. "Let me introduce you. Dad, this is Erik. Erik, meet my dad."

Dad nodded. "Nice to meet you, Erik." Erik nodded back. "But... who are you?" He turned to the lady

The lady smiled. "My name's Cadence. I'm Erik's mom." She winked at dad. "And you are..?"

Dad stared at her. "Happily married with two children."

Cadence huffed. "You guys are no fun."

"But seriously," Erik started, trying to change the topic. "What happened? Why'd you leave?"

I sighed. "I don't know all of the details. What I do know is Elaine’s dead."

Cadence stared at me. "Wait, she's dead?"

I nodded. "Wilford and Dark saw it with their own eyes. They won't tell me how, though."

Erik nodded. "Figures. They were really close to her since her childhood. Give it time, I'm sure they'll tell everyone what all happened."

"Maybe." Dad pitched in. "Or we'll all have to find out ourselves. You said so yourself- they were close to her since her childhood. They'll be pretty upset about this for a while."

"Especially Mark." Cadence sighed. "Poor guy. He only knew her since she was 15, but the two of them were close, too. I mean, they were father and daughter, so of course they were. They had the same birthdays, too."

"I feel really bad for everyone. I mean, she's just... gone. Everything will change now."

Erik nodded. "I wonder what'll happen now."