Inside the torn-down castle hidden within a frozen forest, was team Hydra having a meeting. The dragon tamer sat atop the volcanic structure formed in the center of the courtyard and looked down at his allies as he thought up a plan. Laying beside him was the winged reptile of crimson seen by Faith as soon as she left Leviere's capitol. It slept, docile and peaceful as the dragon tamer stroked its large crimson scales.

The tamer - Heirloom, had his eyes narrowed, glaring at the resting dragon and thinking of something to do. Though he didn't look the part, he was extremely stressed and trapped. He felt as if he had thrown himself into a corner with a very narrow exit. His heart ran and he couldn't do anything about it.

After letting out a sigh, he noticed Vijan with long strands of black cloth hanging from his clothes, hopping his way to the tip of the structure and standing right in front of him. Heirloom looked at the man as he stared down with his black eyes.

Heirloom: [What?]

Vijan: [I feel like checking in on Crystal.]

Unsure of what Vijan was talking about, Heirloom took a moment to think about it.

Heirloom: [You mean Princess Ruby?]

Vijan rolled his eyes after hearing the name.

Heirloom: [I'm surprised you're asking me for permission.]

The Dragon Tamer smirked through his stress.

Heirloom: [You probably don't know where she is.]

Vijan with rising irritation: [You caught me, now spill.]

He tried his best not to express his emotions, but Heirloom's smug expression was getting to him. The tamer sighed after not seeing any reaction from him.

Heirloom: [She's in the twelfth cell on the second floor.]

Vijan turned around and prepared to hop back off, but Heirloom continued.

Heirloom: [If she's awake, don't make us look bad. I wiped her memory when we returned from Penn.]

Vijan: [I'll tell her that we saved her from an attack on her kingdom.]

Heirloom chuckled and gave him a silent nod in response. That seemed to be all Vijan needed because he instantly vanished into thin air leaving behind a gentle breeze. After taking in the breeze, Heirloom sat back and continued to pat the head of the enormous dragon lying before him.

Omar shouting: [What was that about?!]

Shocked to hear Omar's voice coming from beneath him, he peeked over the volcanic structure and saw the vampire standing beside a small tornado of bats compressed together, but flying in unison.

*

In the prison halls on the second floor, the sound of chains clanking echoed throughout the dark corridor. A laugh and a hum could also be heard heading toward the chains. Vijan was making his way toward the prisoner.

*

Heirloom: [Remember the girl I told you not to kill in Penn?]

Omar thought to himself as the small tornado came to a halt and faded away.

Omar: [Oh, the princess?]

Heirloom nodded.

Omar: [You guys kidnapped her?]

Heirloom: [That was kinda the whole point of the mission...]

Omar with a chuckle: [So you're really going rogue.]

Heirloom smiled his way.

Omar: [Don't you know what this could mean for your little group? The alliance will come after you.]

Heirloom: [I plan on using her for something special. Don't worry though, I won't break my promise to you.]

Omar nodded and then resumed his training. The colony of bats in a tornado suddenly appeared once again, only larger.

*

Walking in front of the twelfth cell, Vijan looked straight at a short girl with long black hair. She had narrow black eyes and was wearing a torn-up white and gold dress, but not to the point that she was revealing any skin. Bits of the outer layer of her dress were cut, but the inner layer was untouched. Vijan wrapped his palms around the prison bars and peacefully smiled.

Ruby: [Who are you?]

She asked with a growl. Her eyes narrowed more than they normally were, and she pressed her teeth together. Vijan stopped smiling and released his grasp from the cell's bars.

Vijan: [You finally woke up, Princess.]

Ruby: [Princess?]

She seemed genuinely confused.

Ruby: [Who are you? Where am I?]

Vijan: [You have a lot of questions. One at a time, please.]

After a gentle chuckle, he continued.

Vijan: [The kingdom you ruled was attacked by an ally. Your people were massacred, but we managed to save you just in time.]

The Ninja opened the cell doors and walked his way toward the princess. Trying not to look intimidating, he slid his hands into his pockets until he sat down a few feet beside her. He let out his hands and used them as a stand to hold his body up as he stared at the ceiling. His peaceful smile quickly shifted into a distraught stare as he gazed up.

Vijan: [You never know who you can trust anymore.]

The princess didn't know how to take any of the information he was giving her. With the assumption that she found herself in a roleplay scenario, she fed off his response in confusion.

Ruby: [Why are you calling me a princess?]

Though she rested up her nerves, she still kept her guard up just in case the stranger made any moves. He called himself her savior, but she didn't believe it. She doesn't believe anything he's saying.

Vijan: [Well, that's because—]

He took a big sigh. Vijan narrowed his eyes and continued.

Vijan: [In order to keep you sane, we had to wipe your memory clean. I'm pretty sure you don't want to remember seeing your own family killed in front of you.]

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The princess gave him a funny look, with her head tilted and eyes shut.

Ruby: [So, what's my name?]

She adjusted herself, sitting properly, and with mannerism, she looked Vijan in the eyes. He hadn't turned her way yet but continued to answer her questions.

Vijan: [You went by the name Ruby Ly. The fierce and powerful princess of the Kingdom of Penn. I'll be calling you Crystal, though.]

Princess Ruby: [I think that if I was given a name, I should be called by the said name.]

After a giggle, she continued.

Princess Ruby: [Calling me Crystal would be rude.]

He turned her way and immediately got lost in her dark brown eyes. Vijan was at a loss for words. Not wanting to mess things up, he turned away and blushed. His ears turned cherry red and made Ruby laugh even more. Though she was just acting, she couldn't help but laugh at his bashfulness.

Vijan uneasy: [I-I don't care about being proper! I'm my own man!]

Ruby laughing: [Are you sure about that? A man wouldn't turn his head when talking to a lady, let alone a princess.]

The Ninja listened to her demoralizing laugh for a moment until he decided to stand up and walk out of the cell. Before leaving, he turned back to her.

Vijan: [Is there anything you need, Crystal?]

She thought to herself before shaking her head.

Vijan: [If you ever do, just holler.]

Ruby: [But I don't know your name.]

Vijan: [Oh, my name is Dahal.]

He looked at her with a smile.

Vijan: [Vijan Dahal.]

As he locked the cell door and walked away from it, he formed a fist with his right hand and threw it into the sky. He felt a sense of accomplishment and did a little dance until he went down the stairs to the first level.

Opening the doors to the throne room revealed Heirloom sitting at the very end on top of the large dark blue throne. He had his arms crossed and couldn't get his eyes off the ground. It seemed as if Heirloom didn't know that Vijan was there, so he turned his back and attempted to go back to the courtyard, but was called right after opening the door.

Heirloom silently: [Did she wake up? What did you tell her?]

Vijan closed the door and walked his way toward Heirloom.

Vijan: [I d– did what I was supposed to.]

Heirloom lifted his head and glared at Vijan with his crimson-slit eyes.

Vijan: [You seem stressed.]

Heirloom confused: [You aren't acting like your usual self, Vijan.]

The vampire came walking through the courtyard door.

Omar: [If you don't want him worrying about you, stop looking so damn depressed. It drives me insane.]

Vijan let out a small chuckle.

Heirloom: [What brings you here?]

The Vampire walked up to Vijan and pressed his back against the wall.

Omar: [Your lizard is acting up again. The thing nearly ate me alive.]

Vijan: [Why didn't you just kill it?]

Omar: [Killing the thing will make Heirloom more depressed. I can't handle him as much as he already is.]

Vijan nodded in agreement.

Omar: [Do something about that lizard, or I will.]

Heirloom to himself: [It's a dragon.]

Omar walked up the same stairs Vijan came down.

Heirloom: [Do you think he's going to talk to Ruby?]

Vijan: [Doubt it. He could care less about her.]

Heirloom: [But what she's worth—]

Vijan: [Neither of us are in this group for the money.]

He interrupted as he made his way to the courtyard doors.

Vijan: [He's here because he doesn't have a choice.]

With a sigh, Heirloom went back to staring at the ground.

Vijan: [I should go check on her again—]

Heirloom: [No.]

He interrupted.

Heirloom: [I'll go. Tell me everything you told her.]

Vijan: [I told her that she was a princess. Her kingdom was taken down and I– I mean we saved her. Her name is Ruby, and my name is Vijan.]

Heirloom standing up: [You kept it vague. Good.]

With his cardinal-red steel armor, he walked by Vijan like he didn't exist. Walking up the stairs, Vijan turned and watched only to head out to the courtyard.

*

While walking on the corridor that led to Ruby's cell, Heirloom could hear the princess humming a rhythmic melody from a distance. He smirked with devotion in his vertically slit pupils. When he made it towards her cell and they made eye contact, Heirloom went down to his knees and bowed. Ruby looked kind of surprised but had a nervous smile on her face. Suddenly seeing another stranger show up before her made her even more scared of what was going to happen, and adding the monster eyes didn't make things any better. She backed away in fear as Heirloom was getting down to his knees.

With his head facing the ground.

Heirloom with a deep voice: [Your Highness.]

Ruby sat silently for a moment before remembering what Vijan had told her. She decided to play the part she was given and responded.

Ruby nervously: [Yeeahh? Who are youuu?]

Heirloom raised his head but remained on his knees. Ruby flinched a little.

Heirloom: [I am the leader of a small group called Hydra. A couple of days ago, my acquaintances and I went out to save your kingdom from Leviere's wrath, but were too late.]

She seemed to ease her nerves and sat up straight.

Heirloom: [I know all of this is sudden, so feel free to ask any questions.]

Ruby: [Earlier, Vijan told me that my allies attacked my kingdom... would they be Leviere?]

Heirloom calmly nodded.

Heirloom: [The Kingdom of Leviere is a part of the North-Eastern alliance, which was the alliance your kingdom was a part of.]

Ruby pretended to understand what was going on, but everything was still a blur.

Heirloom: [By the time we had arrived to support you and your people, everyone had already been slain... excluding you and your family.]

Ruby concerned: [What happened to my family?]

Heirloom lowered his head once again and removed his helmet from his head. Revealing his entire head in front of the princess let her gain some form of confidence and built a little trust in Heirloom.

Heirloom softly: [We couldn't save anyone other than you. It was brutal.]

Ruby stared down at the ground as she felt a pain in her chest. Unsure of who the murdered parents were, she still felt pain, unlike empathy, and more like she knew those people. A silent tear began to form and roll down her cheek.

Ruby: [You may stand.]

With a nod, Heirloom stood back up on his feet with his helmet by his waist. Ruby wiped the tear on her cheek with her wrist and smiled softly.

Ruby: [May I get your name?]

Shocked, Heirloom flinched back and then covered his face with his palm. Ruby was confused about his reaction.

Heirloom: [I am so sorry, your highness! I completely forgot to give my name.]

Ruby with a giggle: [It's fine. Just don't make a cheesy James Bond reference.]

Heirloom didn't know who James Bond was, so he didn't know how he was supposed to respond. Heirloom fixed his posture and hair before giving her his name, and to his surprise, she seemed shocked to hear it.

Heirloom: [Is there a problem?]

Ruby shook her head.

Ruby chuckling: [No, you just share the name of an old friend.]

Heirloom concerned: [Did the memory wipe not work?]

Ruby shrugged.

Heirloom: [What's the last thing you remember?]

Ruby: [You guys are calling me a princess and everything, and I don't remember ever being royalty...]

Heirloom opened the cage door and sat beside her just like Vijan did, but closer and more confidently.

Ruby: [Last I remember, I was walking out of my room to go to the bathroom, but then I ended up here in chains and a creep saying I'm a princess.]

Heirloom laughed.

Heirloom: [We attacked when the princess was sitting on her throne... what is she talking about?]

Ruby: [It was summer vacation and—]

Heirloom raised tone: [Your Highness, is there anything you need to know?]

She raised her head and stared at the dragon tamer's eyes. Heirloom's interruption seemed to have hurt her feelings a bit. After a moment of silence, she shook her head.

Heirloom: [Alright, I'm going to feed the dragon, so stay safe while I'm gone.]

She watched him walk out of the cell and leave the door open.

Ruby: [Did he just say dragon?]

With nothing better to do, she got up and walked out of her cell.

She made her way to a set of stairs that led to the wide castle roof covered by snow. There she saw a man standing by himself and looking off into the distance. His torn black robe and short curly hair aesthetically blended with the mountains and trees in front of him. With the suns beginning to set and everything around them covered by snow, Ruby started to shiver as she walked up to him.

Without saying a word, she stood beside him and stared off into the distance. The beautiful green mountains far off into the distance and the untouched natural structures lying about reminded Ruby of back home. She almost felt like she hadn't even left. It wasn't until she noticed a group of small plump creatures with two twig-thin legs and tiny T-Rex arms that she realized she was no longer in Winooski. She stared at the creatures with a smile and thought of them as adorable. Omar - who was standing beside her, seemed to have been staring at the setting suns. He still didn't say a word, and neither did Ruby.

She felt at peace standing beside an anonymous stranger. Not a hint of malice or fear was coming from either of them. They remained there for a moment, silently and listening to the breeze, but Omar suddenly vanished without leaving a trace. Ruby squeaked and nearly passed out.