-EDITED CHAPTER-

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"War is peace.

Freedom is slavery.

Ignorance is strength."

― George Orwell

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THE FIRST THING that came to Helene's mind was to change her clothes, slip on her armour and ask Brenna to take her to the fight. But logic and common sense told her to stay put and let them handle the attack on their own.

Ignoring her common sense, Helene abandoned Cas on the dance floor and ran in a full sprint out the ballroom, clutching her dress in her hands. She could hear her heels clicking against the marble floor as she ran up to her room. She didn't look back once to see whether Cas was following her or not.

Whenever she found an opportunity to fight, she always took it. And she had a chance to prove herself right there and then. On her first few days.

So, she took it.

Throwing her dress onto her bed, Helene slipped on her black leather gear with quick hands. Zipping up her long combat boots, she quickly dashed up to her weapon's duffel bag and began to strap on as many weapons as possible. When she had powers like hers, weapons weren't needed. But Helene always enjoyed using weapons more than her powers because it was the skills that she had developed through the years and hours of long practice nights.

After strapping on her last knife onto her belt, Helene stalked out her bedroom, locking the door behind her. She began to run, way more efficiently in her gear than her dress and down the stairs. Running down them at full speed was fast, but not efficient. Quickly abandoning the proper way of going down the stairs, Helene swung one leg over the railing and slid down, getting weird looks from the onlookers, but she did not care.

Ignoring the pain in her ankle as she hit the bottom, Helene shimmied through the crowd that had begun to form while she had been gone. She stood on her toes, searching the crowd for Brenna or any dark haired girl in armor.

Just as she spotted Brenna in the corner of the room having an intense conversation with a guard, someone pulled Helene back by the elbow harshly.

"What are you thinking? Are you crazy?"

Helene rolled her eyes in annoyance as she turned around with a scowl on her face. "Let me go, Legion."

"What? No." Legion glared at her. "You can't go fight. You're just going to get yourself killed."

Helene's temper flared. Jerking her hand back angrily, she snapped, "You're not my mom. You don't get to tell me what I can do or what I can't do. Keep your opinions to yourself because this is my decision. Not yours."

"I - seriously?" He was beginning to get angry too. "I'm trying to-"

Helene lifted her index finger threateningly. "You say the word 'protecting' and I'll rip out your tongue."

Legion rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. I'm trying to help you. Better?"

"No." Helene looked back to where Brenna was beginning to leave. "Look. I have to go, okay? You should probably stay here because I don't want your parents to kill me for getting the heir of Belwick hurt or worse, killed."

He shook his head, biting his lip. "If you're going then so am I."

There was a long moment of silence as Helene digested what he had just said. As her gaze trailed up and down his body to size him up, she realized he too had gone up to change from his suit to his fighting gear with weapons adorned on his belt, ready to be used.

"Legion!" Helene raised her hands with an exasperated sigh. "Fine. But you have to stay close to me and please for the love of god, please don't die."

He looked at her and winked. "Sure. I'll stick to you like glue."

"Not in my personal bubble." Helene pushed him back when he tried to come too close.

Legion looked up and over their heads. "Let's catch Brenna before she gets away."

Helene turned around with a quick nod and once again began to push through the small crowd which was reduced by the minute. Brenna was still where she was, talking to another guard and making big hand motions. Helene stopped beside her as she finished her orders.

"-all of them in the dungeons below. I don't care if you're dying. I don't care if you are dead. Your duty comes first. Got it?"

The man gave her a jerky nod and shuffled away as fast as he could to do as he was told. As soon as he disappeared, Brenna turned to them.

"I don't have time for this. What do you want?" Then she looked at Legion and her eyes showed no sign of surprise, but she added, "Your Highness."

Legion made a face. "Please don't. Just call me Legion."

Instead of answering, she turned back to Helene. She quickly mustered up her courage and said, "Take us to the fight. We can help."

Brenna burst out laughing.

As they waited for her to finish, Helene spotted a familiar face. She quickly ducked her head and waited for them to pass.

"You can't be serious. The heir of Belwick and some guests want to help." Brenna wiped her eyes. Suddenly she sobered, as if she remembered the attack that was still ongoing outside. "Look, I have to go. It's better if you both stay safe inside here. The guards will protect you."

Just as she was about to walk away, Helene grabbed her hand and viciously turned her around so she faced them once again. This time, Brenna's eyes widened a small fraction before her face turned back to the emotionless slate.

Helene spoke slowly and in a low voice, hoping to get an emotion out of her. Or perhaps a yes. "You will take us there whether you like it or not and we are going to help instead of sitting here like some useless pieces of shit. Now take us there."

Brenna gave her an amused look. "Fine."

Legion quirked a blond eyebrow. "But...?"

"But if we get in trouble, you with the pointy nose is going to take the blame." She pointed to Helene who glared angrily.

"I do not have a pointy nose!" She snapped, her hands going straight for her nose.

Brenna shrugged and held out her hands. "Looks like you're both ready for some trouble. Let's go."

AFTER LEGION FINISHED throwing up in a bush, Helene cleared her throat. "Well that wasn't very princely."

It seemed as if this was one of the side effects of teleportation for the first time.

Helene looked around. "Where did you teleport us anyways?"

"We're on the outskirts of the village. The attackers have made it past the entrance. Our encampment is just a mile away, but we're going to have to walk there since teleportation so close to bombings is not very safe."

Helene looked up. "I don't think any part of this is safe, but go on."

At that moment, Legion emerged from behind the bush, looking slightly pale but just as princely as ever. The two girls looked up and he gave a mini salute.

"Ready to go then, prince?" teased Helene.

Legion scowled at her, straightening his weapons belt. "Let's just go."

The three figures walked along the curved path in silence except for the rustling of the trees. Up ahead, fires had begun and the shouting could be heard even from a mile away. Brenna walked fast, almost as if showing off her stamina, but Helen was not far behind. She refused to give Brenna the satisfaction of showing off. Legion looked barely fazed by either of their antics, looking straight ahead of him. He seemed to be trying to erase the memory of him barfing behind the bushes.

By the time they reached the camp, Brenna and Helene were almost jogging in an attempt to out walk each other. Legion watched the two of them in amusement, but their competitive mood was quickly sobered by the screams of help and the noise of gunfire all around them.

"Hurry up you two,"said Brenna as she began to lead them towards the bunkers. "Captain Hainez wants to meet the two of you before you get out there."

Legion gave her a confused look, but kept his mouth shut. Helene walked alongside him as they made their way to the bunker. When they reached its closed doors, Brenna stopped them.

When the prince gave her a frown, she explained, "you aren't allowed to bring weapons inside the bunker. The Captain doesn't like it."

"This Captain Anus is really demanding," muttered Legion under his breath as him and Helene quickly stripped their weapons belts, leaving them lying on the dirt.

"It's Captain Hainez!" Brenna snapped as she unlocked the door. She ushered them inside and before they could utter a single word, they heard the lock click shut, no Brenna with them.

Legion looked around. "Captain?"

The room was dark as he groped for the light switch. Something wasn't right. Suddenly, the lights turned on and the two stared at the empty room.

Helene's eyes widened in realization. "That bitch!"

"Where's the Captain?" Legion frowned.

"She is the Captain!" Helene exclaimed. "You idiot!"

"What?" Legion scratched the back of his head. In other circumstances, he would have looked cute with the whole confusing look, but Helene was fuming. "So what happened to Captain Anus?"

Helene didn't bother to correct him, not believing his stupidity. "There was no such thing as Captain Hainez! It was all lies she made up, that stupid bitch, and we were just too blind to see it! She set us up and now she locked us in this goddamn room!"

Helene muttered profanities under her breath as she kicked the door. A loud hollow bang was all she got as a reply.

"So..." Legion looked at her. "We're stuck, huh?"

"Yes genius, and unless your idiotic brain can think of a way out, we're stuck in here forever," grumbled Helene.

Legion looked at her, a smirk playing on his lips. "Stop being so dramatic, Helene. Are you usually this grumpy?"

"Are you usually this annoying?" Helene glared at him. "You know what, don't answer that. Don't talk at all unless it's something useful."

Legion made a zipping motion across his lips. Helene rolled her eyes, grateful for the silence.

Then she turned to the door.

Pacing back and forth, she looked around, trying to gauge the place. The entire room was empty with nothing, not even a single pin inside. Helene grabbed for her weapons belt, but then it struck her.

"She took out weapons too!" Helene screeched, whirling around. She grabbed Legion by the shoulders and began to shake him violently. "We are doomed!"

Legion looked slightly terrified as he gripped her arms with his strong hands and pulled her off him. "Why don't you use your powers or something?"

Helene's eyes blazed. "You genius! I could kiss you right now!"

Legion smirked. "Why don't you then?" he asked, and Helene could have sworn that his voice had become slightly husky.

Smacking him out of the way, Helene brought both of her hands together, shutting her eyes in concentration. Fire erupted from them, the temperature around her rising a couple of degrees. Aiming for the door, Helene concentrated everything inside of her, willing the door to burst into flames and melt. When the smoke finally cleared, Helene and Legion stared, dumbfounded.

Nothing had happened.

There was not a scratch on the blasted door. Not a single burn. Helene turned to look at Legion, who was staring intently at something on the door.

"What?" Helene asked, desperation entering her voice. "Why didn't the door burn down?"

"It's fireproof," Legion replied in disbelief. "The bloody door is fireproof."

Helene began to wail. "We are never getting out of here! Legion, do something!"

Legion coughed, looking at her strangely. "You should have joined the theatre, you certainly have the skills for it."

"LEGION!"

"Okay, okay. I have an idea," Legion said with a small laugh. "What if I use my powers?"

Helene had heard of Legion's powers. Heck, everyone had heard of the dangerous powers the heir of Belwick possessed. Mind control, or more specifically, the ability to enter anyone's mind and manipulate it. Helene knew that these powers were rare, much like her own, and she had never seen them in action before.

"Oh, wonderful. What are you going to do, mind control the door to open?" asked Helene sarcastically.

"Oh, you of little faith," Legion replied. "Actually, that's sort of what I'm going to do. You see, I can feel everyone around me because everyone's mind gives off a certain energy. So I can feel when someone is around. I can use this to control someone outside, and they could open the door for us."

Helene looked at him before the screaming began. "You-you useless good for nothing piece of shit, what are you waiting for, the end of the world? Don't just stand there, get to work!"

Legion didn't reply, a sheepish smile on his face. Looking around, he concentrated. His eyes seemed to almost glaze, and the demon black began to glow a navy blue, almost a starry night color.

Suddenly the door clicked, and there stood a man in armor, drenched in blood. His eyes looked out of focus and he seemed to look through them. A dagger was held in one hand and it looked as if he had picked the lock of the door. Legion snapped out of his daze and so did the man. Blinking, the man fell almost comically, rubbing his eyes. He had a confused look on his face.

Leaving the man still muttering on the ground, Helene walked out the door, Legion right beside her. Stooping down, she picked up their belts, tossing Legion his own. They quickly strapped them on. Helene scanned the horizon, gauging the scene around her.

Helene looked around to make sure nobody was following them before she began to cross the road towards the angry shouts. The clashing of swords was loud and she could make out the shine glinting off the blades.

Without looking back, Helene said, "so, we should probably go that way where we can get a clear view of things, huh?"

The silence was her only reply.

Whirling around, Helene looked behind her. Legion was gone. Legion. She gritted her teeth. Where had that idiotic prince gone to? Screams erupted from nearby, and she tried to clear her mind. Legion would come later. For now, she had to concentrate.

Ignoring Legion's disappearance, she jumped over a fallen tree trunk which lay in her path. Her boots crunched under the gravel of the road, making one soldier to her right turn around quickly. The dark gray of his uniform was a clear indicator that he was an enemy soldier. He raised his head and opened his mouth to call out to the other soldiers, but Helene whipped out her knife faster than she could think and threw it at him, making him drop down dead. Walking up to him, Helene pulled out the bloody knife and wiped it on his sleeve, sheathing it back inside her boot and walked on.

Beyond, she found the soldiers rounding up the villagers like they were prisoners, pointing weapons at them as the small group was clustered and surrounded. Anger boiled in Helene's bones as she steadied herself and then ran.

As she got closer, she yelled over the buzzing of scared voices, "Let them go!"

All the soldiers turned around in her direction as she stopped in front of them, a few steps away. "I said, let them go."

The soldier in front of her unsheathed his sword and pointed it at her, "Get out."

Helene raised her eyebrows, "Um, no. I'm here to tell you to get out." Then she yelled, "So GET OUT!"

The man bared his teeth, "Shut up you little girl. You have no-"

"That's it." Helene gritted her teeth and took out the two short swords on her back. Positioning herself, Helene struck, fast and furious.

The blade ran through his neck in the blink of the eye. His body stood up for a few seconds and then dropped down like a heavy stone. Helene laughed like a maniac and turned to the other soldiers, "Who's next, bitches?"

All the soldiers charged with their swords in the air, ready to slice Helene in half. For a second she was confused. Why weren't they using their powers?

Then she realized.

They were all mortals.

She didn't know who their boss was, but whatever they had promised them to make them fight, was probably worth their lives. But Helene couldn't help thinking about the fact that all the promises was a lie. Wasn't that what every villain did? Make fake promises?

Helene dodged every blow that came her way. She sliced and jabbed, burned and scorched. She rolled and stabbed, killing everyone in her wake. After she finished killing the last person, she looked back and found a trail of dead and bloody bodies behind her, laying with chopped off limbs and lifeless corpses.

When she looked up, she found the group of villagers looking at her through wide eyes and frightened expressions. Helene managed a weak wave, "Don't worry. Get to the forest and you'll find your way home. Take these dead soldier's weapons and fend for yourselves. I have to go save some people."

Just a she was about to leave, she noticed that none of them had moved. So she did as her dad would have done.

They don't listen to soft commands. Show them who has the power.

So Helene barked loudly, "What are you standing here for? You want to die so badly? Go!"

The villagers quickly ran to the dead bodies and began to pick up every weapon they could find. Some even went far enough to search the bodies for something to fend themselves with.

Helene sighed and quickly turned back, walking deeper into the village. As she began to jog, she prayed wherever Legion was, he was safe. Especially not dead. She didn't know how good of a fighter he was and she regretted not retracing her steps earlier when she had noticed his disappearance. Ignoring the guilt rising in her chest she stopped and crouched behind a boulder when she spotted a shadow a few yards away.

The shadow stepped out of the shadows and Helene's eyes widened.

It was Cas.

What was he doing here? And how did he know she was here? Had Brenna told him? Helene shook her head to gain her focus back. Brenna didn't even know Cas was her best friend let alone know him at all. She shrunk back into the shadows a bit more. Just as she was going to stand up, a hand caught her shoulder.

She forced her body to burn with heat, causing the hand to move with a surprised yelp of pain which was later followed by a series of curses.

Helene knew that voice.

"Legion, what are you doing here?" Helene stood up and looked down at him, glaring holes into his face, "I told you to stay with me! And what did you do? You-"

Legion stood up and brushed dirt off his gear and interrupted calmly, "Decided to watch your back. A thank you would be nice."

"And if you died-"

"Your concern for me is cute and all, but please. Stop."

Helene narrowed her eyes angrily. "We are in the middle of a fight and your telling me not to be concerned about a prince who can get killed because he is stupid and decided to protect a girl nobody will care if she gets killed-"

"I'll care." Legions snapped and quickly added, "Your family will care. Your friends and relatives will all care. So stop."

Helene rolled her eyes. "You disappear again and you and I shall part ways forever."

She felt Legion fake a shudder beside her. "Now I am definitely not disappearing. That and we have an audience. They must really love us -ahem me - because I see them popping up everywhere we - ahem I - go."

Helene sighed and turned around at the same time Legion pulled her back by her shoulder so she wouldn't bump into Cas.

"Cas?" Helene squeaked, "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Helene opened her mouth to reply when Legion beat her to it. "What she means is that you aren't wanted here. Maybe - scratch that - you should go back. You can die." He emphasized a few words to get an emotion out of him, and Cas's jaw ticked in annoyance.

Helene opened her mouth to reply again but this time she was interrupted by a shrill scream. Helene growled. "Why is everything and everyone interrupting me today?"

Legion gave her a strange look and jerked his head towards the noise. "We should go."

Giving Cas one more lingering look, Helene began to run towards the forest as fast as she could, not daring to look back. She could hear the light footsteps of the other two behind her, along with dirt flying in the air with their every step. The scenery became a blur as a dagger flew her way and she rolled as fast as she could. It whizzed past her, grazing her cheek. Helene felt blood roll down her chin and she absently wiped it away with the back of her hand.

Legion helped her up. "You okay?"

Helene narrowed her eyes towards the direction of where the dagger had come towards her and nodded. The leaves rustled and a shadow crouched behind them, quickly disappeared.

Helene let go of his hand and jerked her head to the left and whispered, "That way. I'm going to go straight. And Cas," She looked at him and jerked her head to the right once, "You go that way. Surround whoever that was."

They nodded and immediately took off, leaving Helene where she was. She touched the wound on her cheek and hissed as it stung. When she removed her hand, she saw blood coating her fingertips. The leaves rustled again and Helene forgot about the wound on her cheek. Instead, her mind was now on her target.

She was going to take them down.

Helene began to run forward, dodging a huge rock coated with sticky mud and green vines. She felt a few raindrops hit her skin and she looked up, slowing down a bit. The sky had darkened and clouds had gathered, making the forest darker than usual. She ignored the uneasy feeling in her stomach and continued to run up the small hill. Legion and Cas were nowhere in sight, which started to make Helene's stomach churn nervously. It felt like there was suddenly an empty pit inside her belly. She rubbed it absentmindedly, and scanned the area where she now stood.

It seemed as if she had ran deeper into the woods and farther away from the village. For a second she thought about whether that was what the attacker had wanted. Them to come after the attacker and away from the village. Then seperate. Everyone knew fighting was better in numbers. But little did they know, Helene was good at fighting alone, too.

Her surroundings had gone eerily quiet. Helene whipped around again and again to make sure no one was behind her. She felt her heartbeat growing with her every breath she inhaled and every step she took. She couldn't understand what was wrong.

Until it hit her.

It was a trap.

The attacker must have realized she was a good fighter and lured her out here so she could get caught in whatever they had wanted to catch her in. Her thought then quickly drifted off to Legion and Cas. Were they okay? Were they safe? Were they fighting? Had they been caught?

She took another careful step forward, her heart in her throat. The suspense was killing her, making her actions sloppy and tense. Those were never good in a fight.

Helene took another step.

And another.

A twig snapped.

Helene whirled around in between her next step. She half turned and stepped down at the same time when she slipped. Her body slid against the wet ground and she fell into a dark and endless pit, which swallowed her whole. And she knew, deep down, there was no going back.

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edit: why did I write weird questions ew I'm cringing at myself