The prisoners woke up and really just confirmed everything was about how I expected it to be. Like my brother said, it wasn’t a real war with lives on the line. Although… That really just made it easier to interrogate them.

The plan was set in motion. I could only trust my new companions to get the job done. It was reckless, but generally well thought out. I liked to think so at least. After a bit of time to iron out the details everyone split into their groups and went off like ninjas heading out on secret missions… It was kinda cool. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder why no one used the door…

‘Isy said that the girl's room number was 206, so it should be around… Here.’ I walked to the door and knocked, but no one responded and I couldn’t see any candlelight flickering from under the door. ‘Curious…’ I slowly took a deep breath in and rested my head against the door, focusing my hearing. It was incredibly faint, but I could hear her breath, quieter than that of a mouse. ‘Even though the drug is worse off, it’s easier to access my dragon's blood now, or maybe I’m just getting better at enhancing my senses with magic? Well, whatever.’

I knocked to see if it changed, and there was a slight jump and a small stutter in her breath, as though shock flooded through her, but it returned to normal almost instantly. ‘So she’s not asleep… Which means she’s waiting to see my next move… Hm… Well, I don’t want to knock the door down… And I can’t really pick locks…’

I rested my hand on the door handle and felt it turn under the weight of my arm. ‘You’re kidding… Did she leave it unlocked? I bet that’s why my knocking made her nervous…’ I sighed, opening the door and walking inside. No one was in sight though. Even with my eyes working perfectly in the dark room I couldn’t see her, and with my own heartbeat and footsteps drowning out the noise, I couldn’t hear her either. ‘My heart’s beating so fast… I guess I’m not very good at this sort of thing… Although I never have been…’ I sighed again opening and closing my hands as my whole body became more on edge with every step. “If you aren’t here… Then I guess I’ll just have to wait.”

I moved to the bed and sat down. Her room was almost completely empty. I didn't bother snooping, but at first glance, I couldn't see anything of note, it was like mine. One chest with a family jewel. “Black Blizardstone. It's so pretty…” I said softly. I would have probably gone over to gawk at it if my eyes couldn’t zoom from a distance. It was a pure black smooth stone that was swirled with white waves and flecks that looked like snowflakes, hints of the name.

Suddenly a chill went down my spine and a blade slipped across my neck, just barely touching me. “Tell me who you are or die.”

‘Just to be safe… I’ll reinforce my skin, focusing all my magic right there.’ “Ahh yes… terrifying words coming from a 12-year-old girl as small and frail as I am.”

“Who are you and what do you want?”

“Actually I came here to talk to you. It’s rude to not answer the door when you're home you know.” ‘not that I would have…’

“If you want a rogue in your guild I'm not interested. Look for someone else.”

“Actually I already have one, she's not that good at… A lot of things… But she’s more than enough, although I have a feeling she will end up becoming a knight in the end…”

“Would you let your only rogue change classes?”

‘Classes?’ “Uh, If that's what she wants then sure… It seems to me that rogues don't get very much respect. If that's true I'm not sure I would want to be one, not if it was a role forced on me. I see no reason why she should be forced to be something she doesn't want to be… Especially when she isn’t really that sneaky.” ‘actually… Come to think of it, was it not an option for me to become one? I feel like I’m missing something here.’

“You're… weird.” her blade left my neck and she came out from behind me “You want to talk…” She grumbled, looking to the side.

I stood up and took a seat in one of the chairs, letting her sit on the bed, her legs folded underneath her as she timidly held the knife on her lap in a death grip. “Did you even bring a weapon? Look if you're here asking for help I don't want any of that either.” She muttered, her eyes continually shifting away from my own.

‘I guess she has pretty good eyesight in the dark too… Or… Actually no… My eyes glow don’t they…’ I took a closer look at her. Her frame was petite and instead of bulky she was more wirey. She still looked strong, but was so small it was hard to see her as anything other than cute… Well, as cute as she could be with a death grip on a knife. “Wait, hold on… Are you shorter than me!” I yelled with excitement, quickly covering my mouth.

She let out another groan, but her voice was so light and high pitched it was hard to feel intimidated by it.

“Im… So sorry, I just didn't think I would ever meet anyone shorter than me… I mean I was just surprised was all because… I’ll… Stop talking now…”

She hesitantly stood up, losing the grip on her knife and cradling her arm. “Uhm… If you stand up… Maybe we can find out…”

‘I guess she’s not sensitive about it after all?’ I quickly got out of my chair and the two of us intently stared at each other for a while… But it was too close to say. I was pretty sure I was just a hair taller though, and regardless I was certainly bigger. “How much do you weigh?”

“I’m about 70 pounds… Judging from the distance my dad can throw me, compared to the distance of weights he throws, I think that’s about right… Although I fly better because humans are more like spears than rocks.”

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‘Does anyone in this world have a normal relationship with their dad… Maybe I’ll ask Lilly… Although she’s a commoner… So maybe that doesn’t count.’ “Oh, sorry again, I just got excited that’s all. I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone smaller than me. Maybe it’s been like… 7 years? Something like that when my sister outgrew me.”

Her eyes widened slightly but shied away again before she spoke, deciding in the end to just stay quiet.

‘I get it… I’m a stranger… And you're alone, far away from everyone you know. And killers probably don’t trust easy either.’

She slowly sat back down. “So who are you… And what is it that you want to talk about…”

‘There we go. Now it’s starting to sound like a conversation, instead of an interrogation.’ “Right, sorry again. My name is Siyasavede Aliyah Nayanathulu. It is a pleasure to meet you.” I coutsied. If only to make me feel less awkward saying my full name.

“What's with the formal greeting?” She whispered, her voice getting quieter with every word, but thanks to my sharp hearing it was still clear as day.

“Well. You are a noble aren't you?”

“Yeah, but I'm from a family of assassins, no one even greats my father like that.”

“Uhm… Ok then… Im Siya… Nice to meet you. What's your name?” Instead of a courtesy, I raised my hand.

She paused and her jaw dropped slightly before she recovered her poise. “Call me… Frostbite…”

“Ah, a codename then? Very cool.” I chuckled at my pun but she wasn't very amused her face falling flat.

“I see no reason to tell you my real name.”

“No no, that's fine. I don't expect you to, Kai never told me you’re name, so I'm sure there is a reason, and finding out your name isn’t why I’m here.”

“You know Kai?”

“Yup. He’s actually in my big brother's guild. Right at this very moment, he is having words with your sister… although I imagine he tied her to a chair or something first.”

“He what!?!”

I looked her straight in the eyes. She thought that she would be interrogating me, but the tables had turned, she had trouble keeping a straight face and keeping eye contact. After all, she was still just a child. Even if she was a trained killer, just like any other child, she was bound to be uncomfortable in an unfamiliar situation… And… Seeing into her soul. Her reactions weren’t exactly unexpected… “You see, your sister did some terrible things to one of my friends, and in doing so declared war on my guild.”

“Yamaria…” She whined as if her heart hurt. But she didn’t seem angry at me at all.

“I’m taking her down… And her entire guild as well.”

She looked down at the table. “She isn't… a terrible person… At least I don't think she really is. Ever since I can remember though, she's had a really bad temper. She hit me a lot, and so did my parents. But that's why my body has hardened, why I'm strong.”

‘This… That’s no what I sound like is it?’ I cleared my throat. “I know what you mean. But you should know, there is never a good reason to put someone through so much pain, neither you nor my friend should have to endure those things…”

“What would you know… I have a strong body, and I have my training to thank for that… My family loves me and they care for me, that's why they put me through that. I have to become strong so that I can continue our family's duty as the next head.”

The orange tint of the dragon filled my eyes and they began to burn. A part of me was happy I wasn't alone. Of course, that thought only made me even more sad. All the dragon felt was rage though. The burning made my eyes water, and with the tears my vision cleared completely, turning white again.

“Why do your eyes change color…” She mumbled, like a curious little kid.

“Ha… That’s… A bit of a long story. Maybe I’ll tell you next time.”

“Hm…”

I took a deep breath. And cleared my mind. “How did Kai treat you?”

Her face finally softened again. “He’s nice… He would give me extra food, and… help take care of my wounds when I got hurt… I almost died once when I was really little. Somehow Kai helped me pull through though, he never left my side. At least that’s what I heard.”

“That is what love and care looks like… I should have known you weren’t working with your sister from the start. Your soul is way too gentle to follow someone like her.” ‘Of course, I’m one to talk… I never bothered truly sorting out my thoughts on it… It was always too difficult or painful, so it was easier to just reflect on whatever I was receiving… Hate for hate, compassion for compassion… Mom…’

The soft blue flames behind her eyes flickered, only confirming my suspicions.

Frostbite.

Loyalty: 1

Opinion: 100

Intimacy: 20

Attitude: uncertain

Mental state: unsteady.

“You don't know me at all…” she mumbled.

‘It’s ironic she says that after I read her stats like this…’ “Of course I do… You're me…” I stood up and took a step toward the door before she quickly stepped behind me, placing the knife to my throat again. ‘If her opinion of me is so high… Then what’s with this? Maybe it’s broken…’

“Why did you come here if that was all you were going to say? Did you plant something? Or are you trying to threaten me by showing me you know where my room is… Is that it?”

‘She’s awfully aggressive when she’s threatening to kill people… Who would have guessed she’s as timid as a mouse.’ I sighed. “To be honest… I did kind of want you to join my guild. Although… You already shot me down, so I’ll just settle with getting to talk to you for a bit. Honestly, it was kind of nice… In a… Strange way.” ‘Granted… Only because I know I can block this knife with magic… But…’

She slowly lowered the knife. “Oh…” She whimpered as I started to walk away again. When I made it to the door I turned around, leaning against the door frame with the light from the hall at my back.

“Of course, if you want to tag along for awhile you can. Your brother will be there.”

Her face lit up so much it nearly looked like she grew a few inches as her breath rose to her chest. “Kai will be… Uhm… No…” Her whole body sank back down into the darkness and she stepped back again. “That’s fine…”

‘Figures…’ “Oh, and please lock your door from now on. It’s dangerous here… I already had like 6 people break into my room…”

She was left speechless, so I thought it best to just close the door, taking time to catch my breath as I finally started to show just how stressful it was talking to her like that. ‘No matter how confident I was I would be fine…’ I reached up to my neck, rubbing the old scar I still had under my chin. ‘That was a bit much… Even for me…’

A sudden high pitch muffled scream echoed from the other side of the door. “What are you doing? Some helpless girl breaks into your room and you just spill your guts! So stupid! What would father say about… But then… And Kai he would… AGH!!!!” She screamed again.

‘It’s a dilemma that I experienced too… Is it possible to have parents who truly love you, but who still treat you like trash at the same time? Of course, anyone in our situation would hope that the answer would be yes, but that’s just unrealistic. Even if they could somehow love you, how could you love them back? And if you can’t, then how can you forgive them? Of course, you don’t have to, but then you might as well be living with a demon your whole life… Maybe that’s why… I just don’t think about it too much…’

I sank down just outside the door, resting my head in my hands. ‘Am I even any better? I feel like I’m just manipulating her, playing on her weakness… How could I ever say I care about someone if I act like that… In the end, that’s why I didn’t try harder to get her to join… That and… How can I give her advice… When my situation isn’t any better…’