“It’s time,” Layla asserted.

Raznizu shifted to his knees with stealthy haste. If it weren’t for the bindings they all wore, Lammy figured he would have stood fully.

“What are your orders, my Queen?” he inquired.

Lammy had been wondering the same thing. So far, she’d only stressed that the gates would eventually unlock. But considering all of the measures she’d already taken thus far, he expected there must be more in store.

“First: we’ll need to do our best to find each other before we escape the dungeon,” planned Layla. She turned to her elder sister. “Zayza, this is where our Castle Breach Defense Training comes in. You still have the dungeon’s layout memorized, yes?”

Whoa…that sounds intense, Lammy thought. Zayza memorized the whole dungeon? Impressive…

“Ah, yes. The…the Castle Breach Defense Training…trusty CBDT…” Zayza uttered weakly. “Um…we were supposed to memorize that?”

“You daydreamed through those classes, didn’t you?” Layla veered. “Very well. There are two patterns: one to locate the nearest cell, and one to exit back into the castle. I’ll remind you: the first is simply right, right, right, left, left, right, left, straight, middle right, hard left, hard right, left, straight, straight then middle, right, right, left, hard left, slight left, medium left, right, straight—”

“Um—Perhaps you and I should navigate,” Raznizu interrupted carefully. “I know the patterns.”

“Very well. I approve of that,” the young Queen said loftily. “Zayza and Lammy: stay put for now. We’ll come to you. And remember, Raznizu: this dungeon is broken up into two labyrinths. So if you complete a cycle and don’t find either of them, you’re the only one on that side. In that case, hurry towards the castle. If neither of us find either Lammy or Zayza, we’ll need to return.”

“Yes, my Lady,” Raznizu uttered.

“Lastly, everyone: as part of my enchantment, your bindings will dissolve when you pass through your gates,” Layla revealed. “But keep in mind: I was unable to enchant the entire dungeon. So our communication magic will cease beyond these cells. We’ll have to trust each other’s determination.”

Everyone nodded. Lammy’s heart pounded in anticipation, but he found himself just as impressed as he was scared: this girl really had thought of everything.

“Are there any questions?” the Queen checked.

Lammy propped himself upwards in place of raising a hand. “Will we meet up with the rest of the resistance once we get out of the dungeon?” he asked. While he safely assumed the answer was ‘yes,’ any confirmation of that fact would be a welcome encouragement.

“‘The rest?’” Layla and Raznizu repeated back simultaneously.

Color left Lammy’s face. “Uh…Raznizu, didn’t you say you serve a resistance that’s here to help Zayza…?”

“Yes. I was talking about Queen Layla,” said Raznizu bluntly. “We’re the resistance.”

IT’S JUST THE TWO OF THEM?!?! Lammy despaired. He forced a sigh to shield the others from his skyrocketing anxiety. “Oh…that makes sense,” he struggled out thinly.

Layla had already moved on. “Any other concerns, then?”

“Layla…” Zayza muttered.

“Yes?”

“It’s just…I didn’t know you had all of this in you,” she admired. “You’ve grown so much in just a few months.”

Layla’s face lit up like a small child watching their parent come home, but it was fleeting, giving way to tired gray eyes too wise for her age.

“Since that night, I’ve done nothing but strive towards this very moment,” she said. Blinking, she tried to bury her true expression under another haughty frown—but even Lammy could see right through it.

She was suffering—yet her will was unbreakable.

“Raznizu: let’s be off,” she ordered as powerfully as her high voice could allow.

“Layla, please watch out for guards, and don’t do anything too—”

Before Zayza could finish, Layla and Raznizu’s projections faded from view. Lammy and Zayza, the two travelling companions, were alone once more.

“She gets like that. That hasn’t changed,” Zayza noticed.

“She’s…really strong,” said Lammy.

Zayza’s gaze turned coy. “Reminds me of someone.”

“Yeah? Who?”

Her smirk persisted insistently.

“Wait—me?!” Lammy exclaimed.

“You’re just like each other.”

Lammy shook his head protest. “But she’s like—she is­—a queen! She made all those enchantments and tricked Proscious, and did a bunch of stuff I could never do and—”

“And whenever she’s afraid, like right now, she puts on a brave front and powers through against all odds,” Zayza interrupted evenly. “With my memories back now, I realize you two are so similar it’s amusing. Trust me, you’ll notice in time.”

For now, Lammy just couldn’t see it. He shrugged. “If you say so…”

Zayza laughed lightly.

They waited in silence for a while, left only to wonder about Layla and Raznizu’s progress—and their wellbeing.

“Lammy,” Zayza started. “I just want to say—”

By her tone, he already anticipated her next words. “Seriously, Zayza: don’t apologize for all of this. I meant what I told the Sages. You’re my friend, and I would do all of this over again even if I knew it would—”

“I wasn’t going to apologize. Not anymore,” Zayza promised. “Finally…I’ve chosen to accept it. This is our battle now: mine and yours. So I just wanted to say…let’s fight well.”

Hard determination flooded into Zayza’s posture. Watching her, Lammy could feel a connection closer even than times when ancient walls and gloomy cave hallways weren’t keeping them apart. His feeling was hers.

Lammy nodded. “Yeah.”

“You know…sitting here and reflecting, I came to a realization,” Zayza said. “We’ve become a sort of consciousness team of our own, haven’t we?”

A laugh escaped Lammy. “Good point. I guess you’re right.”

“All the more reason to visit Honest Stadium for that cinnamon tea,” Zayza added.

This time, a harder laugh burst from Lammy. He tried to tame it at first, fearing the chance of alarming any nearby guards. But when he saw Zayza had caught his case of giggles, he couldn’t help letting it all out.

Then suddenly, Zayza’s chuckling faded. Startled, her face shot to her cell gate.

“Zayza, my Princess,” came Raznizu’s hushed voice.

Lammy felt his heart cease from fear and revive with relief all in one dizzying motion. Raznizu’s projection stood outside Zayza’s cell, already opening the door.

“Raznizu—that was alarmingly hasty,” whispered Zayza.

The stealth warrior entered the cell and cordially assisted Zayza to her feet.

“The five guards I encountered are now incapacitated. They knew not of my presence. Allow me to guide us,” he said swiftly.

Lammy recalled Raznizu’s uncanny speed when he’d chased them down and fought Najinzu. He’d almost forgotten their ally’s ability—and clearly, his injuries couldn’t even slow him down.

But as Raznizu guided Zayza towards the cell door, Lammy noticed a slight limp. He continued to clutch his rib, as well.

Zayza was only a moment from shuffling beyond the gate, still in her bindings for now. Her face had grown stern and anxious, but then, one more smile suddenly broke through.

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She turned to face Lammy through the magical projection one last time.

“Whatever is about to happen, Lammy,” she said, “I’m so glad we met.”

As Raznizu guided her beyond the cell door, Zayza’s projection disappeared.

~

Without question, this was the worst part. Once again, Lammy was totally alone in his cell.

He sighed unevenly. Why did she have to make that sound like a goodbye? he lamented.

Another guard had passed by minutes earlier, challenging Lammy’s hopes once more. Raznizu could likely handle him, but there was no way to tell if Layla was still safe.

Considering Raznizu’s speed, Lammy wondered if he and Zayza would find him first. Though, since it likely depended on their displacement within this apparent maze of a dungeon, he tried to prepare for anything.

Closing his eyes, he brainstormed defensive and stealth-based imagining techniques—partially to be ready, and partially to distract himself from the impending peril.

A resistance of four against an entire nation run by Proscious…he thought. This will be something.

Footsteps suddenly tapped just outside his cell; they were so hushed Lammy didn’t notice until the last few.

He opened his eyes. Layla stood before the gate, checking around carefully.

The small Queen’s cuts and scrapes were far more severe than her magical projection had originally let off. They were still red in places, with blotches staining small parts of her torn dress.

But nonetheless, she stood just as straight as when Lammy had first seen her in the balcony.

“Let’s be off. We haven’t much time,” she urged in a whisper.

As Lammy struggled to overcome the challenge of climbing to his feet while tied up, Layla slipped into the cell. Gently, she helped raise him up and guide him through the gate.

He’d never felt such utter relief as when the bindings dissolved around his wrists and ankles and faded into nothing. Blood flowed through him freely once more.

And yet simultaneously, a new tension took its place: their escape had begun.

“Thank you,” Lammy uttered.

“You kept my sister alive all this time. Your nobility warrants it,” Layla said. “Truly, you are a gift of hope to our nation.”

Lammy tried not to smirk at her grandiose formality. She may have looked incredibly like Zayza, even standing this close, but she certainly carried herself quite differently.

Even still, thanks to her facial familiarity, Lammy couldn’t help but feel his guard soften.

“That’s probably overstating it…but thanks,” he smiled.

Maintaining a seemingly forced intensity, Layla moved on to business, eyeing the dark hall once more.

“I didn’t see Zayza’s projections in your cell,” she noted.

“Don’t worry, Raznizu got to her.”

“Perfect,” whispered Layla. “Right, then. I’ll guide us.”

Lammy awaited her first step so he could follow her lead. But for some reason, she remained in place.

“Uh…which way do we go?” he checked.

“Right.”

With increased assurance, Lammy began walking. But a few steps in, he was certain no footsteps followed.

He turned to find Layla still standing there, offering a slight pout as if he was supposed to know why.

“Um…aren’t you coming? I thought you were gonna lead the way.”

Layla’s eyebrow raised with sheer judgment. She crossed her arms and flipped her hair dramatically. “I am an injured Queen, you know,” she said flatly.

“Oh, true,” Lammy realized. “You holding up alright?”

“I think so.”

Lammy felt his mind spin. The following silence between them only added to his discomfort.

“So…shouldn’t we get going?” he tried.

Layla’s pout increased. “I said you’re a noble hero, didn’t I?” she reminded him. “Aren’t you going to offer to carry me?”

Huh?!

Face red, Lammy pried for any hint that she might be joking with him. But Layla didn’t blink.

I was supposed to just assume that on my own?! he thought. Man…she’s way different than her sister.

But a subtle motion caught his eye: revealed behind the tattered bottom of her ripped skirt, Layla’s ankle was shaking. Dried blood streaked from it onto the bottom of her shoe. Regardless, she stubbornly continued to stand tall and confident.

Lammy smiled as empathy set in. Oh…why didn’t she just say so?

“Well…no matter. I can just walk,” Layla decided, her proud tone weakening against her wishes. “Follow me.”

She started forward towards Lammy, her limp now obvious.

“No, w—wait a second,” Lammy urged.

Blushingly, he turned his back to her and lowered, reaching his arms back.

“Hop on.”

Layla paused before him, her gaze unreadable. “Alright, only because you insist,” she ultimately agreed.

YOU insisted, thought Lammy.

Despite the added weight on his back, Lammy moved forward with relative ease. Layla was light—alarmingly so. He remembered avoiding meals was the only way she’d successfully resisted Proscious’s mind control. The cost of her sacrifice was now obvious. Lammy felt shaky having been deprived access to any meals since their capture; he couldn’t fathom barely eating for months.

“Turn right,” Layla whispered, her breath against his ear as they reached an intersection of the mazelike halls.

Lammy followed her instruction. “Hey…you must be starving, huh?” he asked.

Layla didn’t immediately respond. He felt her shift.

“We’ll find you food…somehow,” Lammy decided.

“Th—thank you,” she murmured. “….noble hero,” she added formally.

Her directions continued, and Lammy snuck throughout the damp path. These black, chipped bricks used to construct this dungeon seemed older than time itself, and the occasional torches provided little help for navigation. He owed it all to Layla’s impressive memory for the slightest sliver of hope in ever getting out.

The young teens passed a silent cell. Lammy expected to find it vacant, until he almost collapsed in horror.

Human bones.

Layla seemed to note his alarm. “A captured Huksdür soldier from an old war,” she explained.

“Harsh,” Lammy gulped.

“War is harsh,” came Layla’s reply. “We’re not meant for it. Left.”

Lammy tried to picture growing up here in Azvaylen compared to Tailpiece. But at its very core, this was an entirely different world. Even attempting to understand Zayza and Layla’s upbringing birthed a headache.

“Right.”

They only caught a glimpse of the next hall before instantly ducking back.

A guard.

The immediate pounding in Lammy’s chest made him queasy. The guard was facing the other way, and likely didn’t notice them. But he was only a few steps’ distance, and like all the other soldiers, metallic armor protected him from head to toe.

Lammy didn’t have time to see, but it was safe to assume this guard wielded a magic sword.

He backed away from the corner, keeping close to the wall and trying to control his heavy breath.

“I may be asking too much of you,” Layla started as hushed and close as possible, “but please don’t kill him.”

“W—why did you think I’d kill him?”

“How else did you protect Zayza all this time…?” questioned Layla.

“Not with murder!” Lammy whispered.

“Good, then. They may be confused right now, but they’re still my soldiers,” reasoned Layla. “And that one is Yuzvirel Zon—his family is kind.”

“You recognized him from just that split second?”

“I get to know all of my personnel. Yuzvirel has an unmistakable type of walk where—”

Their fruitless conversation fell short when clanks against the ground grew closer from the hall.

“Prepare to apprehend him, hero,” Layla ordered nervously.

“Huh?!”

Lammy stormed his mind in a panic. Imagining was his only chance. While it had been dead all this time in the cell, he remembered Irma and Aoi using consciousness abilities to interrogate Raznizu: powers were effective out here.

The steps were closer.

His face felt hot and the wall directly before him glowed orange from the light in his eyes. He needed to form a plan, and now.

‘Apprehend.’

A single armored shoe emerged where the two halls met. There was no time to waste: fueled with extra focus and strength from his stress, Lammy imagined the first vaguely reasonable idea to pop into his mind.

A great round fish, the height and width of the hall, blinked into existence before the soldier’s appearing leg. Spreading wide its substantial circular mouth, the fish flopped forward and engulfed the soldier within its fictional belly.

Layla let out a brief utterance of shock.

Muffled shouts arose from within the slippery beast. While the guard shoved and rolled, he couldn’t break free.

Seizing their opportunity, Lammy pounced forward and hurried around the corner, reshaping the fish for a moment to allow them room to pass. He felt Layla turn to look back as he put everything into his sprint.

“Why did you…?” she tried.

“We had to capture him secretly, so that made me think of fishing back in Tailpiece,” Lammy shared in a huff.

I’m lucky my powers actually worked…maybe stress is good sometimes, he added in his head.

“Ah…” Layla repositioned, holding on tighter. “A well-executed strategy, noble Lammy. Left.”

When they turned the next corner and found it unguarded, Lammy allowed himself to slow. The fish would eventually fade once it was off his mind—or once the light in his eyes dissipated, whichever came first. But for now, they were safe to collect themselves.

“It seems I was wrong,” Layla whispered. “That was Juziew, not Yuzvirel. His shoes are older.”

Lammy continued down the halls, Layla’s whispers guiding him. Minutes passed, then probably more than minutes.

After catching another guard by relying on Lammy’s new fishing reaction, it turned from a gut response to a tactic. They climbed a tall set of stairs. Three more soldiers met the same aquatic entrapment and Layla’s instructions continued, her voice growing more confident with each step.

But at the same time, Lammy knew he needed to move faster. Once his fishes faded, those guards would be on the hunt. He tried to ignore his tiring knees and pushed forward.

“Straight.”

Lammy balanced Layla carefully as they approached another even steeper set of stairs. A thick metallic door sealed the way at the top.

“This is the end of the dungeon,” Layla uttered. “The castle awaits beyond that door. We’ll find Zayza and Raznizu there.”

Part of Lammy hoped Layla would offer to walk the rest of the way—her slight weight was finally getting to him—but the accompanying guilt pushed the idea away. He stepped forward and began climbing the steps towards their solace.

“Those bricks we passed at the base of the stairs,” Layla told him, “are where I prepared the enchantments for the dungeon. I loosened weak points and inscribed them on the inside.”

“Inscribed?” Lammy repeated.

“The magic in our reality is based in an ancient written language,” Layla reminded him. “The closer to its oldest forms you can write, the more powerful its influence. Even if someone finds what I made, the most ancient of enchantments can take weeks to undo.”

“So this is all panning out in a way you were ready for,” Lammy noted, “even down to the last failsafe. That’s good strategizing.”

By now they were only several steps from the door. Lammy powered forward with increased certainty. As he reached the final step, Layla stretched out her hand.

The enchantment must apply to this door, as well, Lammy realized. She actually outsmarted these guys.

The inspiration he felt surged even stronger than his fear for a moment. Assisting Layla with a shove, they pushed the burly door open.

The glow from a vast, open room lit their faces. Lammy had to squint after all this time in the darkness. This new area, clearly no longer underground, matched the extravagant décor of the inner castle he’d seen when they first arrived. The floors, walls, and pearly ceiling high above glimmered.

Its only difference were pointed, swirling black letters interwoven on every surface, only adding to the beauty.

Despite its decorative importance, this room seemed little more than to serve as an entrance and exit into the dungeon. Far across, parallel to them at the opposite wall, a door identical to theirs stood as wide as the one they just opened.

But Zayza and Raznizu weren’t present.

Lammy’s heart sunk. If he and Layla were alone in here, what did that mean for Zayza and Raznizu?

He started another step forward. The only way to know was to keep moving.

“Wait!” Layla shouted, the contrast from her former whispers making Lammy pounce.

Something told him not to even let his foot fall down. He gazed at the floor before him: even here, the black-lettered inscriptions continued.

“Don’t take another step forward!” Layla demanded.

Even without her fearful words, Lammy pieced it together.

An enchantment.

“This is a Dreamer Trap,” Layla observed rapidly. “If we move any closer, we lose.”

“But…how?” Lammy asked. “Who knew we were trying to—”

His throat tightened. A torturous realization set in and made his knees all the weaker.

This time, for once, Zayza’s optimism was their detriment.

“I told her it was a bad idea,” Layla shuddered. “Fewpar chose his side.”