"It will be wonderful," she'd said.
Eleanor also saw the truth. And the memory came back, clear and perfect.
A Terran soldier walked away. Eleanor had watched him walk ahead of the group and step to the walls, where the pillars were.
He did something behind a pillar.
Then walked to the flowers and did something else.
The Empress had seen it as well. "Is everything well?"
"It is perfect, Imperial Majesty."
As the procession walked past the pillar he had been near, the explosion went off. The pillar started to fall.
The nearby Rhimodians tried to stop it, but they could not. The flowers exploded like a chain as soon as the blast wave hit them.
And Eleanor saw the soldier standing to the side, watching.
Everything was hazy, but she heard it clearly enough. "It is done, Your Majesty."
Everything was still and quiet. Bodies were strewn about. Debris floated in the air. The sky was black and ashy. Smoke created walls where there hadn't been any.
It was funny how after the explosion, there was silence. No one spoke. No one moved.
It made hearing the rest easier. Even for an almost-dead child. "Yes. Even the girls are dead."
She closed her eyes to wait for death.
And then woke again, to lights and cyborgs.
Eleanor gasped. Seeing it again was like reliving it. Except for this time, she had Veta at one side and Jedriek on the other.
She shook her head.
"He killed our mother," Eleanor whispered.
"What are you talking about?" Veta asked.
"The Emperor. He killed Mama."
"Surely not--"
Eleanor looked at Veta, and her expression stopped the bodyguard cold. "I was there. I saw it happen."
"And it was the Emperor?"
"He ordered it. And he wanted us all dead."
"I cannot--"
"Believe it," Bianca said as she came into the room. She walked in the room, leaning on a cane. Mostly. She thumped the cane on the ground hard as she walked, Harbin at her side. "He absolutely tried to kill the entire party before, and he's tried it again. This time, he's more determined than ever."
Eleanor rubbed her temples. "And you didn't mention this before now?"
"I had no proof. But I do now."
"Which is?"
