Liliana looked around, confused. She couldn’t remember where she was, nor how she had gotten here. Surrounding her were walls made of dark mist. She reached out a hand and pressed it to the wall, surprised to find it solid beneath her palm. Torches dancing with ghostly grey flames hung from the wall, odd as Liliana hadn’t seen a torch often in this world. Normally mage lights were the choice for illumination, quartz crystals imbued with Light magic that could be controlled by anyone who was awakened to brighten or dim at will.

“Where am I?” Liliana wondered as she walked down the hallway, not having much else to do.

She couldn’t see further than five feet in front or behind her. It all just faded into a dark mist. Yet as she walked, stone appeared under her feet. Her voice had a flat quality in this odd place she’d found herself in, as if the mist was consuming the sound and preventing it from traveling. While all of this combined should’ve sent her into a panic, Liliana felt only a slight curiosity about it all.

Liliana wasn’t sure how long she walked down the misty corridor, but eventually she heard whispers of voices. A sigh of relief filled her. She’d finally found someone else. Perhaps they could tell her where she was. A door appeared on the mist walls, partially opened, and Liliana hastened to get to it. She stopped at it as warm yellow light leaked out and she looked into the room. She could see several familiar faces in the room. They were some of the guards who were accompanying her to Timberborn.

“H-“ Liliana started, but her words died off when she heard what they were saying.

“She’s really getting on my nerves,” one guard was saying as the others nodded.

“With the way the sergeant and lieutenant have increased our shifts, I’m hardly getting time to sleep. All because an assassin wanted to get rid of some dead weight,” another guard grumbled as she poured herself a cup of tea.

“And have we gotten a single thank you from her highness? You’d think she was the crown princess with the way she walks around with her nose in the air,” a third guard chimed in.

“She’s as much a commoner as us! She has no right to act so uppity. Honestly, who would pay for an assassin for her? I bet she paid the assassin to get herself some more attention,” the fourth guard spoke up darkly.

“I say if another assassin comes, we should let them kill her. Better than having to keep up with the whims of a mongrel playing at being a noble,” the second guard proposed, getting a round of agreement from the others.

“Yea, but then the sergeant would have our heads,” the third guard spoke up with a groan.

“Well, we could just say we didn’t hear her cries for help? Or maybe we thought we saw another assassin and went after him?” the first guard proposed.

Liliana backed away from the door, trying to keep her movements as quiet as possible. She didn’t know the guards had thought so poorly of her. Had she really been acting so terribly they wanted to see her dead? Her heart ached. She’d thought the guards, of all the factions in her father’s house, were the most amicable towards her. They always seemed to be separate from the servant’s games of gossip and politics. Were they just better at hiding it?

Was she truly utterly alone in this world? The servants at the manor didn’t like her, or outright hated her. Her stepmother wanted her dead and had tried to kill her twice, maybe three times, already. Her father only cared about her as long as she proved useful to him. That was obvious. He hadn’t cared when she’d been in a coma for weeks, and hadn’t once tried to see if there was something more malicious than an illness behind the event. Even now, when she was proving useful, he still let her stepmother treat her like garbage.

She couldn’t trust Alistair. His own mother was trying to kill her. She couldn’t trust he wouldn’t side with his mother. Emyr was his closest friend. The two were practically soul bound with how close they were. He would never side with her over Alistair. She couldn’t trust the other nobles, even with all the parties she’d gone to. She knew she was nothing more than an interesting distraction for most. For others, her very existence was an insult to therm. Now she couldn’t even trust the very guards who were supposed to protect her.

You could still change their minds, spend time with the guards. Get to know them, show them you don’t think yourself better than them. That you appreciate them. A voice whispered in Liliana’s mind, but it was so weak it was quickly blown away by a sudden anger that filled her. Why did she have to beg and grovel for respect? Why was it too much to ask for the guards to just do their damn jobs? She was a noble; they were oath bound to protect her. They should feel honored to protect her! They should be groveling before her!

Liliana whirled towards the door, ready to rip into the guards and teach them if they wouldn’t respect her, she would make them fear her. However, where there was once a door now stood misty walls once more. Liliana growled and slammed a fist into the wall, yet it did not give way before her anger. Her anger fled as quickly as it came and Liliana shook her head, trying to make sense of the sudden changes in her emotions. Yet something drew her to continue her walk down the corridor and she followed it.

Time passed. How much Liliana wasn’t sure. It felt like she was in some different world, where time didn’t matter. Another door appeared on the wall and Liliana approached it tentatively, almost nervous now as to what she’d find this time.

Looking through the crack, Liliana saw the Earl and the Countess in a study. The Countess was lounging in a chair and the Earl was behind a desk. Both seemed to be fairly deep in a bottle of whiskey.

“I can’t fathom why the Duke keeps that girl around. Her manners are atrocious. She’s not even that impressive as far as her levels go,” the Countess said, her pleasant facade gone in the privacy of the study. Her face was twisted in disgust as she discussed Liliana.

“She did get her levels in under six months. Her growth is impressive. And her taming a creature several Ranks above her was quite a feat. Still, I don’t think it justifies the freedom she’s been given. If she was my whelp I’d have her flogged for the lip she seems apt to give,” the Earl said with a harrumph, downing the rest of his glass of whiskey before filling another.

“It’s a good thing Alistair is the heir then, could you imagine that girl being the heir? The Rosengarde territory would fall to ruins!” the Countess pressed a hand to her forehead, as if the very thought sent her to the edge of fainting.

“Honestly, it would be best if the Duke shipped her off. She’s too much a liability,” the Earl continued, and Liliana backed off as the Countess chimed in once more. She had heard quite enough.

As before, the door vanished, but Liliana was too busy trying to rein in the anger that coursed through her. Alistair, a better heir than her? She could do anything he did and do it better! Soon enough, she’d outstrip him in levels, and he’d never catch up with her boon! She’d become a power house while he was still struggling in the mid-ranks.

Her a liability? She’d worked twice, three times as hard as her stepbrother. She had the manners of royalty, with the months, years, of training she’d undergone. She could recite most of the noble families’ lineages by heart. She even knew the lineage of the royal families of the other countries, knew their common exports. Could tell you what time of year what noble territories, and what countries, shipped out what goods.

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She’d be twice the ruler of the Rosengarde territory Alistair could ever hope to be. Who were these nobles to say she didn’t deserve her birthright?

Liliana stalked further down the corridor, the anger staying with her this time. She nearly ripped open the next door she came across, ready to shred whoever was behind it, whispering their hateful thoughts about her. Yet as she opened it, the world twisted and swirled.

Liliana sat in an elaborate and ornate room. She looked around and, with dawning realization, saw she was seated on an intricate, gilded throne. She lifted her hand and felt a metal circlet around her head. On her body was a large dress made of fabric and gemstones so expensive it made her head spin.

“Your majesty? They’ve come,” a voice whispered in her ear and Liliana twisted around to see a knight standing beside her throne, someone she didn’t recognize. Yet his glowing blue eyes strummed some forgotten memory buried deep in her mind she couldn’t place. The knight nodded his head forward and Liliana tore her gaze away to look ahead of her.

The doors were huge; she was certain one could fit a dragon through them. Carved and painted in jewel-like tones was her likeness, standing above the old queen with her naginata buried deep in the woman’s chest. Before Liliana could further examine the doors, they opened and a line of chained people filed before her, surrounded by faceless guards. The guards forced the prisoners to their knees before her throne and Liliana looked down on the familiar faces, a smile tugging at her lips.

Her stepmother was first dressed in what was probably once an exquisite and expensive dress. Now it looked like muddy rags hanging off her thin frame. Her perfectly coiffed hair was tangled and hung around her face limply. Beside her was Liliana’s father, his own clothes of a similar state to the duchess’. Beside him were the Earl and Countess Wilde, both looking the worse for wear. Behind them were their children and the guards who had suggested leaving Liliana to die. All of them were looking up at her, but instead of disgust or hate, she saw only fear in their gazes. Fear of her.

Liliana felt almost giddy with the rush of power she felt. Seeing those she hated, those who had looked down on her and seen her as nothing, finally recognizing her worth, was a heady drug. She was better than them. Stronger, smarter, better. Everything they would never be. And they could see it clearly now as she sat on a throne, crown resting delicately on her brow. She held their lives, their fates, in her palm. Hers to crush, or to release as she saw fit.

“What is your decree, your majesty?” the knight beside her asked, his voice dark and smoky. Liliana thought she could detect unfathomable power beneath it, calling to her. Urging her towards a choice. One that would solidify her power and show to everyone what happened if they crossed her.

“Strip the nobles of their rank, seize their assets, lock their magic. I want them to know what it’s like to be a commoner, to be alone. To have to struggle every single day, with no one there to love you,” Liliana licked her lips as she watched the nobles blanch. Oh, she wanted them dead so badly. But this punishment was infinitely more painful to them than simply killing them. Nobles cared first and foremost about their own power, and Liliana was removing all of it in one fell swoop. They’d have to see the rest of their days, powerless, poor, and alone. As she’d had to suffer for so many years.

Liliana waved her hand, and more guards appeared, dragging the nobles from the room. Her stepmother was screaming and screeching, but one guard shut her up with a smack to the head that left her dazed. Her father tried to retain some essence of his nobility and walk out, but another guard tripped him and dragged him out. The Earl and Countess were sobbing as their children were ripped from their arms to be sent to different areas of the country, never to meet again if Liliana had any say about it.

The once guards drew her eye, and Liliana smiled down at them. It wasn’t a kind smile; she knew. But these guards deserved none. If it was up to them, she’d have been left to die, choking on an assassin’s poison. Kindness wasn’t for trash like this. They seemed to understand that mercy had fled this room long ago, and several among them shook. One was even crying quietly and Liliana hadn’t even passed her judgment yet.

“And the guards, your majesty?” The knight next to her asked, and Liliana’s smile widened into a grin as she rested her elbow on the throne, cupping her head.

“Oh, there was a favorite saying by a queen in a story book once. I think it’s rather fitting here. Off with their heads,” Liliana ordered, and the guards finally all started crying. Liliana liked her lips again. Their despair was delicious.

“I want their heads hung on pikes. Show everyone what it means to cross the Queen,” Liliana added on her order and the knight next to her grinned, his mouth full of too sharp teeth that reminded Liliana of a shark.

“A fitting punishment, my Queen,” the knight said and Liliana hummed happily as the guards were dragged to their deaths.

The scene swirled again, and Liliana stood on a balcony in a castle she didn’t know. Around it were marvels of architecture, magnificent buildings that showed the artistry humanity was capable of. It was beautiful and Liliana paused for a moment to breathe deeply, taking in the sights. Below her were masses of people, more than she’d ever seen in a single place. They were quiet, all staring up at her and waiting for her to speak. Respect and fear hung heavy in the air and Liliana drank it in. This was power, this was power so indisputable not even the gods themselves could wrest it from her grasp.

“My people! Your Queen comes to you today to tell you we’ve been successful! The last of the rebels have been stomped out! The Cista continent is now one unified front!” Liliana announced to the crowd. As her words died off, a cheer replaced it, shaking the very castle she stood in.

“All this power, it could all be yours,” a dark voice whispered in her ear and Liliana turned her head slightly to see the knight from before beside her.

“What do you mean? It’s already mine,” Liliana stretched out a hand and motioned to the cheering crowd beneath her. “This is all mine. I took with my own hands, with my own power. They wanted a villain, and I gave them one. Now they’ll choke to death on their own wishes,” Liliana informed her guard with a wide smile, a laugh on her tongue.

“You’ll understand soon, Liliana. For now, it’s time to wake up, you have an unwanted visitor,” the dark smoky voice wrapped around her, with it came shadowy mists. Liliana twisted and turned in confusion.

Liliana’s eyes shot open, and she looked up into an unfamiliar canopy. Her dream was still fresh in her mind, a confusing mix of events. Had it really all been a dream? It had felt so real. Towards the end, the dream got harder to remember; the events slipping through her mind like water between fingers. Yet she remembered with perfect clarity the words of the guards and the Earl and Countess.

A sense that something was very wrong drew Liliana from her thoughts. She went still in her bed, trying not to move. It felt like a predator was trapped in her room with her. She could feel eyes on her. She sent a mental command to Lelantos. The tiger woke but kept quiet, his eyes taking in the room much easier than Liliana’s. To her the room was a sea of black, night truly on them. To Lelantos it was all shades of gray, and as a shape moved, he honed in on it.

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Rank 4

Liliana felt her heart double its pace in her chest when Lelantos’ [Identify] came back. That many unknowns meant the intruder had a high level deception type skill. All she had to go off of was his Rank, which meant he was anywhere from level 185 to 265. Lelantos sent back that the man smelt of Death and Poison and it sealed Liliana’s impression. A second assassin. She should’ve expected as much. Her stepmother would’ve sent another as insurance in case the first was caught. She’d probably informed the assassin they’d be stopping at the Wilde’s, since the manor would be easier to corner and kill Liliana in than a camp.

In a manor she was boxed away from her guards, in camp she was kept constantly surrounded. Her guards would’ve lowered their guards too in a manor, assuming the Earl’s staff would be up to the task of guarding her.

None of it mattered at the moment, and Liliana shoved the thoughts to the side. She needed to figure out how to get out of her room. She had no hope of fighting, and winning, against a Rank 4 assassin. A plan formed in Liliana’s head and she materialized the necessary item in her hand as she communicated her plan to Lelantos. The tiger wasn’t happy but consented to the plan.

The assassin started to move towards Liliana’s bed, and their time was up. The few moments since Liliana had woken up all that was gifted to her to throw together a plan, panic and adrenaline making time move slower than it should. As the assassin stepped closer, Liliana sent the order to Lelantos.

Now!