Two pairs of footsteps echoed in the dark cave. A torch lit the path. The fire gave off a faint yellow glow, flickering as it lit the way. Long shadows trailed in the dirt.

The two people came to a stop.

The small cloaked figure turned to their master. They pointed into the darkness. “The core should be just ahead, my lady.”

The other person crossed their arms. They squinted. It was hard to make out anything beyond the small area that fell within the torch’s glow. The person stretched out their hands tentatively. A tendril of energy reached back. Smiling victoriously, they tightened their hold on the energy and followed as it pulled them toward the rock wall deeper within the cave.

Breathing in deeply, the lady let out a pleased hum. “This will do.”

Laila picked up her dress. Her walk became brisk, while her servant hurried to follow behind. With their pace, it wasn’t long before they reached the end of the cave.

The cloaked figure scrambled to pull the same pick Ria had left behind out. Practically bouncing on the balls of their feet with excitement, they offered it to Laila.

“Thanks,” muttered the woman.

Picking it up daintily, she weighed the tool in her grasp. Should work. With a sniff, Laila lifted it and slammed the pick straight through the rock wall in a vicious motion.

The entire rock wall shattered like glass. Shards flew in the air. The wall fell away in seconds, revealing a glowing crystal within.

Laila smiled maniacally. She tossed the pick to her assistant and crawled into the space. Laila’s dress caught on the rocks but her eyes were fixated on the crystal inside.

It was a roomy space, empty except for the glowing rock. If Ria had been there, her six-grade geology knowledge would have naturally assumed that a pocket of air had created the space. An air pocket as old as the cave itself. But she would have been wrong. The pocket was barely a few weeks old. It was the work of the crystal which had warped the foundation of the entire mountain to create the room the way it was. Some would call it magic. Expert as she was, even Laila was often awed by the capability of Dust. What a mysterious and powerful element. Eres was only using the precious metal in its most basic forms and still, it had restored a crumbling kingdom back to glory.

The large crystal glinted as if a bright white light was emitting from within it. It was as if the cave had a mini sun within it. The reflections of light splattered across the walls of the small pocket of space.

Laila greedily reached a hand out to touch the crystal. Her fingers glided over its sharp edges. She closed her eyes. The crystal flickered. Laila breathed in.

The crystal shuddered. The bright light began to fade. It was as if the light was slowly draining out. Sounds of sizzling filled the air. Laila laughed. She had missed the heady rush that came with absorbing power.

As the crystal dimmed, web-like black veins began to cover it. Within minutes, the veins had fully covered the crystal. So much so that the beautiful crystal now looked like a plain, dark rock. Without the power of the crystal upholding it, the rock walls shuddered. Shards fell from above and erupted out of the ground to grow around the crystal as if trying to fill in the space that had been empty for so long.

Laila stepped out of the space. The shattered wall filled up behind her, eagerly growing back until it appeared like a normal cave wall, with no air pocket in sight.

“My lady?” squeaked the assistant. Their eyes were wide and they trembled with fear.

So noisy. Laila grimaced. She would have to warn her disciple to send a quieter servant next time.

The assistant felt a heavy presence boring down on them. The hairs on the backs of their necks raised. What was this sorcery? They took a faltering step back.

Scram, a voice seemed to whisper.

Laila’s eyes flew open. Her iris glowed a bright pale blue. Cold and unearthly.

Foolish Eres, she thought happily.

The pick fell to the ground as screams echoed in the cave.

—

Ria panted hard.

She peered out from behind the tree.

“Shit, shit,” she cursed under her breath. “Shit.”

The last rays of sunlight and warmth fell behind the horizon. They had been running all day and still, her pursuers were insistent. Ria didn’t get it. Why wouldn’t they just give up? It was like she was up against a bunch of cross-country runners or something!

Ria wiped her brow of sweat. Her current spot on the hill gave her a perfect vantage point.

Marge and the guards prowled around in the small valley below. Their dogs sniffed the grounds, wet noses buried in the snow. It seemed the thick layer of fresh snow had helped in hiding Ria’s scent. But… the girl shivered in the cold.

Despite the delay, she knew it was only a matter of time before they found her. Ria sighed. Her breath came out in a white puff of air. Even if the guards didn’t find her, the sun had just set, and the temperature was dropping even faster than before… Needless to say, if Marge didn’t get her hands on Ria, hypothermia would happily take her place.

At the bottom of the hill, Marge groaned. This expedition was taking longer than expected. She glanced over at the Elite Guards and their stupid dogs.

The largest of the hounds looked up. It began to bark in the direction of one of the hills. Marge’s brows pinched together. All of the hills were filled thick with trees. Perfect for a cowardly criminal to hide in. The animal padded over. Its handlers and Marge followed.

Ria leaned against the tree and shut her eyes. This was it. She literally couldn’t run any further. Her legs were seconds away from collapsing on themselves. Her eyes glanced down. At least the snow looked fluffy. It would be a soft landing. Hopefully.

Ria sighed. For some reason, her thoughts weren’t focused on her own impending doom. Well, not completely. No way Eres would let her live a second time. Ria let out a helpless laugh. What would her mom say when Ria didn’t return home? What if Ria really… died. Would her mom ever find out or know?

What about the trapped children? Did Finn and Derek make it? Her heart clenched. Daisy wouldn’t be avenged. Ria sniffed, eyes stinging. It took everything within her not to break down sobbing. She wouldn’t give Marge the satisfaction of finding her like that.

Meanwhile, Marge rubbed her hands together happily. In her mind, she pictured turning in Four and her little friends to a grateful Eres. Maybe the queen would even allow her to stay for the execution! Revenge would taste so sweet!

Suddenly, the dogs began to growl, hackles rising. The lead hound paused; paw raised midway in the air.

Ria closed her eyes. The wind whipped her hair in her face. She promptly spit it out, trying to brush it out of the way. Which was why she missed what happened next.

An arrow shot through the frosty sky. The arrowhead glinted in the snowy light. The lead hound yelped in pain. The arrow was embedded into its hind leg. The dog slumped to the snowy floor.

“Ambush!”

The elite guards and Marge backed up fearfully. Their eyes darted around the forest. An ambush! Was it a single person? A group?

Ria heard the commotion and quickly stopped her hair brushing. She glanced over… and her jaws dropped.

Another arrow from the other direction split through the air. It landed on the snowy floor by the guards’ feet. At the same time, a third arrow grazed the arm of an elite guard who hissed in pain. With that, volleys of arrows began to rain down from all directions, filling the sky with flying projectiles.

Marge screamed, “Retreat! Retreat now!”

The dogs ran ahead of their owners. The elite guards and Marge sprinted up the mountainside, running away faster than they came, dodging arrows left and right.

As they ran, the arrows were relentless as they continued to shoot out after them.

Ria gaped as she watched the scene unfold before her. The girl pumped a fist in the air as Marge and her people fled like rats. Ria thanked whatever higher power there was that saved her. She slumped against the tree trunk, relief flowing through her. Ria paused. Whoever had shot the arrows would be coming for her next. Suddenly, her relief seemed short-lived.

She peeked over once more, this time watching the arrows intently. Maybe if she could figure out where they were coming from, she could run in the opposite direction.

The arrows had no consistent rhythm or location. Some were extremely off, while others had been inches from hitting the fleeing group. Now that she thought of it… why were the arrows still shooting if the enemy was already gone? Ria’s brows furrowed in deep concentration as her brain churned through the intricate possibilities.

In a matter of minutes, Marge and her fearsome guards were gone from sight. Their footprints were still visible in the snow. All that was left of their presence was the bleeding hound, which whimpered pitifully. Its blood was bright against the snow. The image was as ominous as it was pitiful.

Ria rubbed her head.

The random arrows and the lack of victorious bandits emerging meant that this whole setup was no planned ambush. It would be much more fitting to call it an elaborate booby trap! She squinted into the trees and studied the loaded crossbow in the top branches. Her eyes followed the strings and cogs connected to it.

Now the only question that remained was who. Who was the mastermind behind all of this? And why?

A large hand grasped Ria’s mouth and another tugged her into the shadows. Ria groaned. Why did this keep happening to her?

—

Finn stood in front of the large assembled group of miners. Again.

The boy swiped his hands against his pants. It was no use. His palms were still sweaty. As was the rest of him. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. How should he start? With a joke? He shook his head. Then, they wouldn’t take him seriously. Maybe…

The miners rolled their eyes at the boy muttering indiscernible nonsense to himself. They allowed it to play out for another thirty seconds before someone spoke.

“We’ve had this conversation already, lad!” protested the same gruff miner from before.

The others around him shouted their agreement. In fact, they wondered why they had even bothered coming again. Their eyes shifted over to a seated Derek.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Finn swallowed. He stuck his hands in his pockets. Finn hated public speaking. Too proper. Ria, he thought, you’re going to owe me big for this. He glanced over at Derek who shot him a raised eyebrow.

“Well?” demanded the miners.

“I will admit that you are not right, I mean, wrong but,” the boy coughed awkwardly. “This time is different.”

“How?”

Finn’s eyes flashed in irritation. “Well, first off, you’re all going to die if we don’t leave,” he snapped.

Be polite, a voice that sounded awfully like a stupid queen he knew, chided. Finn sighed. Screw formalities, he was going to do this his way.

“So, you all better listen up!” Finn hopped off the rock platform. He continued, “Cause we’re not talking about some depressing distant future. We’re talking like tomorrow night.” He continued, “The Citadel is clearing out this unit of the mines. Permanently.”

The miners shifted, glancing at one another with uncertainty.

“Why should we trust you?” spit a lady from the back.

Finn rubbed the space in between his brows. He placed his hands together and explained, “They’re planning an Extermination. Do you know what that means? They’re going to kill every single one of you!”

He gestured around. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed the lessening of the guards or the fact that the mining orders have shrunk considerably. You think I could do all that?”

The lady laughed, “No.” Then sobered as the realization struck her. “Oh Niamh.”

“Why would they want to kill us? We’ve been working for them for years with no issue!” hollered another.

Finn thought of Daisy and the caged children. “Does it matter?” he asked. “We’re less than animals to them! The Child-Snatcher started here and most of the infected have come from our mines. It’s likely just weeding out the bad crops to them.”

Curses raised in the air. Some miners spit angrily while others let out sobs. Those with children by their sides pulled them closer. The seriousness of their situation was finally starting to dawn.

The gruff miner shrugged, “Doesn’t change the fact that we’re still stuck here. Even if what you say is true, how will we escape?”

Finn raised a hand. “Ria- Her Highness has a plan!”

“Are you talking about Four?” someone asked.

“We have even less reason to trust her!” they protested.

A queen that had never done anything for them. A person that wasn’t even present now and they were expected to trust a cowardly girl to lead them to safety?

The miners began to walk out. “Might as well just die now.”

“Four? He wants us to trust Four,” someone laughed.

Chatter rose in the little cave. What a waste of time! Again! Except now they were about to die!

Finn scowled. He tried to speak above the noise but it was to no avail. He clenched his fists. Ria had given up her safety to try and help these people, and in response they dared to belittle her!

“How dare you!” bellowed a low voice. “If you have even a scrap of dignity left, I would suggest you heed my words carefully.”

The room immediately fell silent. Even the ones exiting paused. All eyes turned to Derek, round with shock. They had never heard the man utter a full sentence, much less scream as he did now!

Derek shoved his way past the other miners and climbed onto the small platform. He pointed out at the crowd. “Do you wish for Niamh to curse you? How dare you say you prefer death!” Shaking his head, he continued, “I would give anything to still have my son, alive. And here you all are, waiting to die?”

Derek had always been a quiet man. But he was also a respected one.

The man had had a hard life in Oceanport just like the rest of them. He did his work on time and was never known to do anything brash or deceitful (until the appearance of his son, and that whole mess, of course). Oftentimes, he would even help others. Many still remembered his aid be it lifting the heavier loads or the extra ration of food he would stuff into a crying child’s hands. It was as if the man was making up for some sins in his past life, but no one could deny the kindness when it was shown in as harsh and unforgiving of an environment as theirs.

Even the gruff miner softened his tone. He sighed, “Derek, why should we trust naive children with our lives?”

Derek barked out a short laugh. The miners flinched.

“Because it’s that or die,” snapped Finn. The miners quickly turned their insults to him, resulting in a fiery argument.

Derek shook his head. He stared at his fellow miners. Some he had known for years. The young ones he had watched grow from children to adults. He sighed, “I’m tired.”

The miners looked away from Finn and watched Derek raptly.

“I’m so tired, Niamh could smite me and I don’t know if I would notice.” Derek shook his head. “But now is not the time for rest.”

Derek continued, “I understand your hesitance.” The man shook his head. “I have lived half my life in Oceanport and spent all of it being disappointed by it. Our kingdom has given us nothing.” His brows furrowed. “But why should it?”

The miners began to protest.

But all the years of pent up silence was finally released as Derek’s voice rose above the noise. “Why do we expect outsiders to help us, when we don’t even help our own? We work together, live together, and yet, we don’t trust each other.”

He sighed, “Our children have been taken from us, and we continue to toil away quietly. Every day we are treated as less than dogs, and still, it seemed less trouble to keep our heads down than fight against the measly ten guards that kept us captive.” He paused, “Why?”

No one had an answer. The miners shuffled awkwardly. Eyeing one another they chose to remain silent.

Derek pursed his lips. “It is not because we are less. Or weak. Or unworthy. But! We were told that we were no more than dogs… and slowly we came to believe it.” He shook his head. “For years, we have had no one to lead us. No one to inspire the human spirit within us.” He pounded his chest earnestly. “But now we do. A damn good, Admin-sent one.”

Someone kicked a rock. “Since we’re gonna die anyways, it’d be nice to see a sunset or some grass for a change.”

“And not have to sleep and die in that horrible cot!”

“Yeah!” The group cheered.

“I’d thank Admin myself if I never had to be in another stupid cave!” muttered Finn.

Choruses of agreements filled the air.

The gruff miner crossed his arms. Finally, he rubbed his face. They all turned to him as he asked, “Do you trust her, Derek?”

Derek was silent for a moment. Everyone in the cave waited with bated breath to see what he would say.

Finn sighed and stepped forward, but Derek held out a hand. He met the gruff miner’s eyes. “Which one of you would come back if you could walk out free right now?”

No one dared to raise their hand. In the mines, you had to be selfish to survive.

“The minute she got out of captivity, she went to find a child in the Sick Area.”

“Four offered herself as bait,” said Derek. “She led the Elite Guards away so that we could come to warn you.”

The gruff miner sighed, “So our only means of escape is likely imprisoned or dead.”

Finn protested. “Hey!”

“Not that girl,” Derek said unflinchingly. “Ask me the question again, Jerrel.”

The gruff miner’s brows furrowed. “Do… you trust her?”

“With my life,” responded Derek firmly. “She is my queen.”

Jerrel sucked on the inside of his cheek. Finally, the one-legged man got to his feet. “Well, if you trust her, then I see no reason why the rest of us shouldn’t.”

The miner shrugged, turning to his fellow Port-Dogs. “Like you said, we’re all going to die anyways.” He turned to Finn. “So, what’s the plan, boy?”

Boy? Finn opened his mouth to retort… then closed it. Choose your battles.

The boy crossed his arms and smirked at the group of Port Dogs in front of him. “Who’s traveled by mutt before?”

---

Ria had since learned how to have short, under ten-seconds pity parties for herself. She stomped on the foot of her kidnapper.

Turning, the girl ripped her arm out of the grip! Ria scrambled back, picking up a fallen stick and brandishing it forward. “Stay back!”

Two hands rose in surrender but their owner glanced at her coolly. “Why is it always you?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?” snapped Ria but she lowered the pointy (but otherwise useless) stick. “Why is it that I’m always in a crappy situation and you just happen to be nearby wandering around?”

Blaze’s eyes narrowed.

“I live here,” he said, deadpan. “Or at least I did. Thanks to you, I’ll probably have to move.”

Ria’s heart was still pounding. She didn’t how much more of this she could take. “I thought you lived in Oceanport?” she asked offhandedly.

Rolling his eyes, Blaze chose to remain silent. Ria honestly couldn’t care to press for more. Maybe the Citadel didn’t have property tax or something.

She tossed the stick away and muttered, “Also, what do you mean, thanks to me? Do you think I want to be chased by a bunch of crazy guards and their dogs?”

Blaze’s brows raised. He looked as if he wanted to say something but the wild look in the girl’s eyes held him back.

A cold gust of wind blew through the forest. The snow began to grow thick as it started to come down even harder. The girl’s teeth chattered. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself. The tips of her fingers and toes were numb. It wouldn’t be a wild guess to say they were at least very frostbitten.

Blaze studied her for a moment. Why did things always tie back to this girl? His brows furrowed. “How did you get out?”

“You don’t want to know,” responded the girl, teeth chattering. “It’s a long story.”

Blaze didn’t press further.

“Cold?” he asked.

Ria touched her pointer finger and thumb together in the universal signal of: “a little bit”. Her whole body quivered as she thought of winning the “understatement of the year” award.

Blaze sighed. He glanced off into the distance.

“Follow me,” he muttered. The young man began to walk down the hill. His thick boots made deep tracks in the snow.

In the trees above him were dozens of loaded crossbows. They all had a rope and pulley mechanism that allowed them to automatically fire once a trigger was pulled.

It was the ultimate weapon of a one-man army. Although a pain to set up, it was quite a useful trick for a mob boss hiding in enemy territory.

Marge and the Elite Guards would be shocked to find out that the volley of arrows was no hidden ambush by a refugee group but rather an ingenious combination of engineering and trickery. Although, Ria had a feeling Blaze wasn’t going to give them the opportunity to.

The young man didn’t bother to look back to see if the girl was following. He knew she would… be it out of curiosity or just sheer survival instincts. The winds and ice of the Citadel were just as harsh and unforgiving as its people could be.

Ria felt irked at that cockiness but she reluctantly glanced around. Wasn’t like there was a better option. Waddling, she closely followed. Her muscles ached painfully, and something in her leg had been pulled causing her to limp. Without the adrenaline, it was a lot harder to keep one foot in front of the other.

A thick mass flew in the air, landing on her head. Ria growled. The girl tugged it down. She paused at the item in her hands. It was a thick fleece jacket. She glanced at the young man who was walking further and further away. His short-sleeved shirt billowed in the wind, but he seemed unaffected by the cold.

Half-frozen and too cold to care, Ria quickly tugged the jacket on. She sighed happily. It was so warm! And soft. Her nose crinkled. It also… smelled kinda good? And she… hadn’t showered in a couple of weeks.

She flushed.

Stupid. The guy was a mob boss, he could afford to get it washed.

Pulling the material tighter around herself, she forced herself forward to catch up to Blaze.

He glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow teasingly but the girl quickly looked away. Blaze smirked. Even the most unpredictable person he had met had to conform sometimes.

“Why didn’t you leave?” he asked. “You made it this far from the mines. To be this inland, you must have come back. Why?”

Ria pursed her lips. Her eyes were downcast but there was a hard edge to her that hadn’t been present when he last saw her. Was it something to do with the letter?

Ria shook her head. “I failed. Now I have to try to make up for it.”

She laughed humorlessly. “I don’t know if I can though. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this but…” She shook her head, a sense of helplessness washing over her. “There are people depending on me. As if I have a clue what I’m doing! In fact, I have no idea what I’m doing and they could die because of that!”

A chuckle came from the side.

“What’s so funny?” Ria’s eyes glanced over at her chuckling companion.

“I told you to meet me outside a jail cell and you really did it. Bizarre, isn’t it?” Blaze let out a last laugh. His dark eyes bore into Ria’s. “You have a way of screwing with fate, don’t you?”

With that, he walked away.

Ria blinked. Was that an insult or compliment? Also, that had nothing to do with what she had just said! Right? She shrugged away the thought. Screwing with fate? Funny. She actually thought it was the other way around. Her footsteps quickened.

It didn’t take long for the two to reach the bottom of the hill.

Ria suddenly stopped. Something was wrong. Her vision blurred and she wobbled unsteadily on her feet. Was it just her or was the world spinning? She closed her eyes and held her head. Forcing her eyes open, she looked in the direction of Blaze, who apparently now had a twin, if her vision was to be believed.

She stumbled forward. “Uhm, Blaze?” Ria didn’t know which of the three Blazes she was now seeing to look at.

The young man sensed something was wrong. He stopped and glanced back.

The girl blinked, “A little help?”

Blaze squinted at her. What? Did she want a piggyback ride or something?

The girl collapsed onto the ground, landing face first into the snow.

It was Blaze’s turn to blink. Oh. Guess she did. A thought struck him and his mood soured. The jacket! His precious jacket was being stained by the dirty snow!

That was the only reason why he hurried forward and picked the girl up. Because of the jacket.

He sighed as he carried her. Good thing the cabin was close.

Blaze dragged his boots across the snow. Suddenly, they hit something. He glanced down.

It was the hound! The dog opened its brown eyes and barked softly at Blaze. Its arrow wound bled sluggishly.

Blaze looked away. Stepping around the body, he continued to walk forward.

A pitiful howl filled the air.

The young man stopped. Why was this happening to him? He glared at the body in his arms. It had to be because of her.

A few minutes later, he continued his trek. With a dog on his shoulder and another human in his arms, the cabin no longer seemed close. He grunted as he adjusted the animal on his back. The cabin seemed farther than he remembered. A lot farther.

He sighed. Some of the dog’s blood dripped onto the jacket. Blaze’s eye twitched.

A silent frustrated scream went unheard in the snowy night.

—

Daphne scrolled through the invite list. Every few minutes, she would scroll back to a familiar name. The girl pursed her lips. To invite or not to invite.

She rubbed her forehead. Maybe she was overthinking this.

Ria Regina. The name was printed in black on the contact sheet.

Daphne huffed.

She swiped left, adding the name to the invite list. Daphne shrugged. It wasn’t so much a bribe as it was a reward for being so accommodating with the whole Four and handing over Carmae business. A simple swipe would grant her a lifetime of gratitude and admiration. Something within her was hesitant, but at the end of the day, Daphne figured she was just overreacting because of stress. Ria was nothing more than a small pawn in the game. Inviting her would be weird to most of her loyal followers but it couldn’t hurt.

Right?

Clicking away, Daphne hit send. The party guest list was officially live.