'You five are allowed an early release to attend The Prince's union party.' said a grass owl.

'We are invited?!' gasped Athena.

As soon as the grass owl walked away, the triplets started exchanging werid looks.

'Something's fishy.' Athena finally said.

'You took those words out of my mouth.' agreed Andrew.

'Like, why in the world would they invite us who no longer have any political power there?' she added.

'Not to mention that we are considered to be one of the worst species.' Antony chimed in.

Otulissa who was behind them letted out a loud sigh.

Athena turned to her weary mother and asked 'What's wrong?'

'Oh, nothing... nothing at all.' said her mother.

'Okay...' she said.

The faithful day had come, the family of five were going to The Prince's union party.

When they arrived, the place was grand. There were decorations everywhere they turned, bells were hung on thin strings, garlands were hung on trees and putted on tables.

There were owls and nestmaid snakes serving the guests, it was grand.

Suddenly, a barn owl who seemingly popped out of nowhere asked 'May I have a word with you?'

Otulissa simply nodded. Then, both of them were out of sight.

'Andrew, is that you?' asked a voice.

He turned around, it was Blythe.

'I thought that you are in camp.' she said in disbelief.

'They released us early to attend.' replied Andrew.

'Werid.' she commented.

'Guests, please gather around for the union party.' a grass owl announced from above.

So, all of the guests crammed around a rock.

Above everything, the Emperor and Empress pearched on a high branch. Watching everything.

Andrew managed to squeeze between Athena and Antony.

As the crowd cheered, Crimson flew onto the rock rather clumsily, but it was better than crash landing.

He was adorned with a crown of gold, and was holding a silver one on his beak.

Less than a minute had passed when the parliament of owls splitted into two halves.

Between the gap, the Prince's future mate walked gracefully as wind ruffled her feathers ever so slightly and light shimmered in her deep dark eyes like black diamonds.

She wore a cloak the colour of pearls, it trailed behind her, it was at least a dozen meters long. As if a waterfall was falling down from her shoulders delicately.

Her elder sisters couldn't help but envy her beauty and grace. She looked more regal than she had ever been. But at the same time... she was more distant, they might as well be galaxies apart.

Meanwhile, the male barn owls envied the wonky prince that was pearching on the rock for having such a beauty by his side. But Beau definitely took the cake for being the most jealous. This undeserving fiend had such great power handed to him when he arrived to this world, and now, he had the embodiment of purity and beauty as his princess.

But Athena's thoughts stuck out like a sore talon, she thought that all of this was laughably over the top.

As the maiden in the white cloak stood before the Prince of the Empire, he gently removed the part that covered her head with his raven wings, contrasting the snow white cloak.

Then, he placed the crown of silver onto her head lovingly.

After Bell was crowned, a barn owl with a white garland on her head flew onto the rock and wrapped a delicate white scarf around the couple.

As the crowd cheered, the crowns on their heads glittered like stars in a clear night sky under the pale moonlight.

After the roars of cheers died out, the owl with a white garland announced 'May Glaux bless the couple with eternal happiness and power.'

The cheers were back.

'The celebrations start now!'

The cheers were even louder.

Most of the guests went to the tables for refreshments including Andrew and his siblings.

'I am so hungry!' said Andrew as he took a big bite of bat wing.

'So am I!' groaned Athena with her beak full.

'This is divine!' said Antony, also with his beak full. It had been ages since thay had any good food.

Antony swallowed the food and said 'Who would have thought that we would be invited?'

'This is nothing special, so excessive. The only good thing about this is the food.' said Athena.

Andrew chuckled 'But isn't the cloak lovely? Or the glistening crowns? You're a female after all.'

'Sparkly stuff isn't my forte. To be honest, I think that they were rather unnatural.'

'Like mother like daughter.' smiled Antony.

'Speaking of mother, have you guys seen her?' asked Andrew.

'I haven't seen her since that owl talked to mum.' said his brother.

Then, the sound of music spreaded through the area.

Owls started gathering, in the centre of them all, Crimson and Bell were dancing. Staring into each other's eyes.

After the music had a short pause, the other owls started to dance to the elegant ballad.

Andrew had chosen to dance with his sister and Antony danced with Blythe.

'You're terrible at this.' muttered Andrew.

'Shut up, Andrew. You ain't that good yourself.' she shot back.

Her eyes moved around, trying to find their mother. Normally, she would be dancing swiftly across the dance floor. But she was nowhere to be found.

'Ow! You stepped on my talon again!' complained Andrew.

'Don't be so whiny. Our mum has gone missing.'

'You mean you couldn't spot her?'

She nodded.

As the music came to a halt, the dancers switched partners.

Andrew danced with Bash and Athena was partners with a stranger.

'Is your mum seriously missing out on her favorite part of a party?' asked Bash, it was like she had read his mind.

'Werid, isn't it?' he sighed. 'Athena couldn't see her either.'

As they were dancing, he noticed that Bash's eyes wandered somewhere else.

'What are you looking at?' he cocked his head.

She did not answer his simple question. He looked at the direction she was staring at for so long. It was a handsome barn owl, who was dancing with Bell alarmingly intimately.

'Who is this hot guy who is so close to her?' she thought out loud.

'Good question.' he replied, he was practically asking for trouble.

As they spinned across the floor, he saw Athena standing alone under a tree, her previous partner was probably screaming in agony after his talons were being stepped on for dozens of times.

The music came to a sudden end as the female with a white garland cleared her throat.

'We are going to have a really special event tonight. There was an owl who after sent to camp, didn't learn from her mistakes. She attacked a fellow inmate for no good reason. For her misconduct, we have no choice but burn her alive. For the royal family wish that everyone could learn from her mistakes.' she said, as if it was another performance.

The gossiping voices filled the air.

Two owls piled embers and coal below a stick shaped like a lower case T. As a familiar looking spotted owl was tied on the stick.

It was their mother, Otulissa.

The triplets and their father gasped in terror.

'No way.' Pelli, Blythe and Bash exclaimed.

It finally made sense to the triplets, her recently melancholic expressions, all her sighs, why they were invited, why she was nowhere to be found during the ceremony...

The crowd booed and cursed at the mate of the ex leaded of Firthmore, that undeserving spot, that unlawful citizen.

Otulissa's face was pale with hopelessness. After all she had done, she still couldn't prevent the world as she knew it crumnle in front of her very eyes. Her retribution for her mentor unfulfilled, knowledge that she held so dear to her became forbidden... was her life meaningless? But one thing was certain, it was a tragedy.

The two owls lit the pile on fire. Just before the fire could lick her talons, she shedded a tear. The embers sizzled as the drop reached it. But the flames were as brutal as before.

'Otulissa! No!' screeched her mate as he tried to fly to her aid.

When he was halfway there, two masked owls ceased him. He bursted out into tears helplessly as his love was suffering.

The triplets tried the same thing but was stopped by five strong guards.

'Mother!' yelled Athena as she started sobbing uncontrollably.

'Please, spare her!' shouted Andrew. But his voice was not heard, his sight became blurry.

'This couldn't be real!' roared Antony, but it was all too real. As teardrops started running down his face, he covered it with his wings.

Flames of red and yellow danced upon the dying owl, thick smoke started clogging up the air, so was the smell of burnt flesh and feathers.

The crowd started cheering, and some even started throwing stones and other things at her.

Andrew flew closer to the fire, his siblings followed suit.

He spreaded his wings, attempting to make the things that owls throw miss her, Athena and Antony did the same.

Soon, Pelli, Blythe and Bash joined them.

Minutes later, Otulissa smiled and took one last breath before perishing. At least, her psyche was released from this world.

The cheers grew even louder, and owls stopped throwing things.

The dreadful smoke started to leave.

The six of them tucked their wings by their sides, their chests all riddled with scars.

Athena took one last glance at the burnt remains of her mother and so did the other five.

Soon, two guards lead Cleve to the centre of the crowd.

'Your Majesty, this owl was trying to rescue her.' said one of them.

'You must punish him!' said the other guard.

Nyra thought for a while and commanded 'If so, give him eighty whips after he had returned to Firthmore.'

He sighed, at least he died trying if he couldn't survive the whips.

A.N.: Well that was hard killing my favorite character...