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Queen Plasma sat rigid as she watched her daughter's form disappear into the portal, forcing herself not to break composure. Her sweet, little Nox was gone. Or, that version of her had been gone for a long time. The Ender Dragon closed her eyes, allowing light purple tears to flow from her eyes, slipping down her cheeks. The princess hadn't been the same since the death of her aunt, one of the many family members that ruled over separate domains. Slain by the sword of a Player, the dragoness stood no chance. She had not been able to protect her child; of whom remained sheltered within the obsidian-cased egg that had been stolen as some sort of sick trophy. Opening her eyes once more, the dragoness forced herself back into composure, "Lurch, please seal the portal." She said. She cringed slightly at how her voice wavered, though the Enderman did not seem to care or take notice of the emotion leaking from the Queen's voice. The Enderman dipped his head, quickly sealing the portal up using some of the Queen's bottled smoke breath, which had been modified significantly with items scavenged from Players.
"Will you be alright, your highness?" Lurch finally spoke up again, his voice echo-like and distorted. The Queen rubbed some light purple tears from her eyes with a talon. "I will be alright, Lurch. Thank you for your concern."
"I am guessing you will need time to yourself," The Enderman quietly responded, moving over to the behemoth of a Queen, comfortingly raising a long arm to press against her scaled shoulder.
"Yes, I will." Queen Plasma said softly, "Thank you for understanding, my friend."
The tall guard's intimidating green eyes softened significantly as he removed his arm from her shoulder, "Of course. I will leave you now, your highness."
Queen Plasma looked to him as he turned to leave, saying in a more calmer yet saddened voice, "You're in charge until I return, Lurch. I trust you for this duty."
He nodded, "I understand. I will let the others know."
The Queen's head turned back to the portal, which was now just a small bedrock structure. Head dipped, the dragoness's thoughts drifted off.
She was hatching. Her child, the second ever heir to be hatched with her mother still alive. Queen Plasma was beyond thrilled- she was ecstatic. Such happening had not occurred in a millennia. The Queen lay beside the egg, watching it intently and shivering out of excitement. Her child. Her child was about to hatch. And when she did, the Queen could only stare, mouth agape; at the dragonet that emerged. She is beautiful. Was the Queen's first thoughts, as the small heir sneezed; shaking the top of the egg from her small form. "Hello, my child," The Queen spoke once the dragonet's eyes met hers. She had her eyes. Those beautiful, purple eyes were now her daughters' as well. Love welled up in chest, emotion fighting to break loose. Her child tilted her head to one side, letting out a squeak of a response as she wobbled out of the remains of the egg, gleefully extending her wings to her as she bumped her head up against the Queen. As her child snuggled up close, letting her head drop down as she succumbed to her slumber, the Queen ran a talon gently across the hatchling's face, tracing over each individual scale with upmost care and affection. I will protect you. She thought, grim determination filling her body. I will protect you with every ounce of my being, my child. I will make sure it remains that way. And she too, closed her eyes and let her mind wander, though she did not break the protective posture she had around her hatchling.
"You LIED to me!" Nox screamed accusingly at the Queen, her wings flared in aggression. "You lied to me about this, you lied to me about the FUCKING PLAYERS! What kind of mother are you to lie to your own CHILD?!"
"It was and is for your own good, Nox! I cannot have you risking your life to try and rid of the Players, you and I know full well of what they are capable of! And do NOT give me that tone!" Queen Plasma roared back.
It had been moons since the hatching of her daughter, and today was the day that Nox had learnt of the players from overhearing the guards. The day Queen Plasma greatly regretted not telling her sooner, but alas; it was indeed for the heir's own good. Players were an unusual, strong being that manifested with the overwhelming determination to survive, as all beings did. Except this instinct, this trait was taken to a higher extreme. It allowed the Player to respawn. Something not even Ender Dragons, the highest being aside from the surge of Players; could do. Of course, the kingdom's knowledge on both respawning and Players themselves were limited; only recorded from various encounters with the strange two-legged beings themselves.
"How in the name of the Void is it for my own GOOD? For me to be lied to for the vast majority of my life, for the very THREAT that lurks beyond our home to be avoided in conversation like it was some sort of MYTH?" Nox roared, stomping a talon onto the obsidian-cased flooring of the main hall. Endermen ducked away from the two arguing royalty, clearly not wanting to get involved in the argument. All except one, of whom was Lurch. Lurch was an abnormally tall dark purple Enderman with glimmering green eyes, of which had not been seen since the early settlement days. He was the Queen's righthand man, and the peace bringer. "Enough," The Enderman garbled out, his speech like every other Enderman's was distorted and due to this words were often times mispronounced. The two royal Ender Dragons stepped back as the Enderman shoved himself between the two, distancing themselves from one another. "What is going on here?"
"I-" Queen Plasma attempted to say, but was cut off abruptly by her daughter, of whom had purposely made her voice louder than her mothers'.
"My mother LIED to me about the Players, Lurch!" The heir wailed with dramatic flair.
"Is that true, your highness?" He turned his head to look to her, a quizzical expression written on his face.
"..It is true, Lurch. But I have done it for her own good, or she would have lived her childhood in fear of the very beings that reside away from our home."
"The Players? Is this what this is about?"
"Yes."
"Yes!"
Both royalty said at the same time, though Nox's was slightly louder and more exaggerated than the Queens'.
The decision of exile weighed heavy on the Queen's shoulders. Her daughter, her once precious heir; had grown into a monster. Despite Queen Plasma's continuous attempts as the dragoness grew to give her a perfect life, it all ended in shambles.
Her daughter was now a merciless, reckless, and dare she say it- manipulative - being. Her once loving daughter turned monster. Like a sick joke, the Queen could only watch in desperation as her daughter spiraled down into insanity- Or something close to it. Every time the Queen approached the princess in attempts to help her, the heir would only shut her out.
She was trying her best, what could a mother do in that situation?
Queen Plasma had not grown up with her mother around. She did not know how to act other than her own maternal instincts, as well as what she had been taught. Her own mother had died to a Player moons before her own hatching day, where when Plasma had hatched; was taught under instructions from the Endermen who had lived during the former Queen's reign. It had not been easy.
She diverted her thoughts from the past, focusing back onto the present.
If she were to die, Nox would become the next Queen. But in this state, a state of such disrepair and cruelty, what horrors would she bring? Queen Plasma dared not to think about it, suppressing a shiver at the mere thought of what her daughter could do.
The dungeon was a big no. She refused firmly to allow herself to think about imprisoning her own child. She could not bear the thought of it, even if it seemed most plausible.
She soon came to a conclusion.
She had to exile her daughter.