Nobody noticed a figure creeping towards the Temple's west side. After all, Xanthy had made sure that all the Temple guards were interested in the scuffle happening at the Temple front rather than the covert side mission Xanthy was pulling off.

She dashed past the clamoring soldiers, pulling her hood lower and pushing her hair inside of her cloak. All the action had threatened to push it all to the surface and Xanthy knew better than to be identified anywhere.

Her boots slapped against the cobbled road, the thin soles barely making any noise. The gate spread wide but there's only a fraction of the grounds inside that's the Temple of Earth itself. Such a waste of land and resources. But what did Xanthy's thoughts about it matter?

Xanthy ran, hoping her friends wouldn't get arrested or thrown into prison. She had heard enough tales of the Avaloran prison and she didn't want to end up there, free or not.

The corner of the Temple gates came into view and Xanthy swerved, gripping the gate's rails to propel herself forward. Faster. She gathered her magic to the surface, the Virtakios simmering in and out of her system as the magic around her failed to provide her with enough energy. Even the Arbotro's spirit inside her offered no help.

Gritting her teeth, she stopped at a random spot by the gates and pressed her hands against the metal rails. She willed them to change, melding the trails woven into it with the Virtakios. It had taken her a full week to learn how to do it after telling June what she learned about the true nature of the Power of the Ancients and June hypothesizing the spell for her. It was an ingenious move which proved useful for sneaking into the markets to steal butterbread whenever she craved.

Before guilt started gnawing at her stomach about stealing from equally struggling merchants, she spread her hands and the gate's rails parted according to her motion. The sound of metal grating rang in the horizon but the patter of dagrine hooves and some merchants' hollering covered most of it. Good. Better.

She ducked into the hole, her boots touching the soft grass carpeting the grounds as she crossed through the gate. Then, she set the metal back to how it was with another grate. She winced. That's a risk.

Xanthy turned away from the gate. She's inside. The Temple of Earth now stood in all its glory, looming above her. Columns the size of the smallest castle towers supported the triangular roof, stretching farther to the back. Xanthy had to crane her neck and narrow her eyes before she could see where the line of gigantic columns ended.

She took one last glance at the gates. The hole was unneeded the second time since she probably would have to teleport her way out of here once she succeeded with her plan. The sirtya had to sit this one out since none of them were sure if there were magic sensors inside the Temple. She'd hate to trigger them before she even made it inside.

Play it safe because they have a lot to lose if they don't.

Stairs carved from what looked like marble tinged with Crozal's rays led up to a narrow foyer. Doors lined the wall protecting the Temple at regular intervals. The only thing left to do was to figure out where the heir was currently locked in. Arbotro, any luck in tracking Ariden? Xanthy's thoughts were loud and echoed inside her head when she asked.

Here, the Arbotro's reply came after. In Xanthy's eyes, a straight, glowing thread of a trail bled from her place in the foyer towards the third door to the Temple's left side. There were no guards present but she shouldn't count out the possibility the Temple would be guarded at night.

Xanthy tramped forward, forcing her legs to go faster. When she got to the door, the trail passed through. She placed her hand on the door's metal plate and fed her magic through it. It clicked loudly as her magic did its work on it. When Xanthy yanked it open, it obeyed.

Good. So far, so good. Xanthy blew a shaky breath as she slipped inside the Temple. She was greeted with dim lights from burning braziers atop more, smaller columns lining the extravagant hall she was now in.

Paintings, displayed treasures of gems and rocks, and even an occasional armor made of bunched shiny rocks followed Xanthy as she tore through the exhibit. The snowy trail led her towards the protected heir. How much longer was this going to take? Her feet slapped the dark red carpet laid out on the floor, muffling her steps but also proving to be harder to run in. The muscles in her shins accepted all the pressure and, after a while of running, began hurting. Gods.

Xanthy clenched her jaw against the pain. The glowing trail twisted and turned, losing Xanthy into a labyrinth of corners and straights, of lefts and rights. Finally, the trail dropped her in front of a nondescript door with a shocked armored guard gaping down at her. Oops.

She extended her hands and screamed a spell. Her magic flickered but her spell slammed into the guard's face. She was about to smile and call it a day when a fist sailed for her jaw at the corner of her eye. The fist connected. Her feet flew off the ground. She was weightless for a while.

Then, she crashed against the wall with a sickening crunch. Her eyes registered for a moment the door she was about to enter. Then, the ground pulled her close as she slid towards the ground. Her back shrieked in pain.

As her magic slowly worked on healing her form, she forced herself to stand up, no matter how it made her vision black and her chest constrict. She eyed the guard who drew his weapon and lunged for her. Good. Let him come.

Xanthy studied the floor and true enough, the marble was beginning to shift. Earth magic. Just her ticket in.

She leaped aside as the floor elongated into spikes and sped for her. Rolling aside to a crouch, she touched the marble spikes and sent the Virtakios straight through the guard's synnavaim. And...lock. Good.

The guard tried using his attack once more but judging from the knitted eyebrows that immediately rose as his eyes widened with surprise, he couldn't access his synnavaim. Xanthy didn't grin. Not this time. He could still use that sword. Plus, he still has armor as thick as Nyxis's face when he's bragging.

She called her magic to the surface, her breath hitching at the effort. Her jaw throbbed. The pain would find her later. But not now. She lunged just as the guard did the same, screaming through the helmet covering most of his face. A spell formed at her tongue before she sent it loose.

The spell spiraled towards the guard which hit him square in the chest. He crashed to the ground. The rock in his armor scratched the marble, emitting scratching and skittering noises. Oh, the scratches they would find in the morning. The Earth Sprite Priest would not be happy.

Xanthy lunged for the door, keeping the snowy trail in her sight. No time to check the guard's vitals. It's just a sleep spell, anyway. She jammed her hand into the door's lock and spread the Virtakios around it. Within five seconds, she was in. She locked the door again as she quickly assessed the room.

Shelf, chair, desk, books, window, curtain, heir.

Yep. Heir.

A young fairy with wide, brown eyes and a messy mop of ocher hair stared at Xanthy. She put her arms forward. "It's okay," she said in her calmest Keijula. "I meant no harm."

Then, she saw where the heir's hands were. On his desk. Atop a strange contraption. There's a button. That button couldn't mean anything good for Xanthy. "I doubt that," the heir said with his deep, gravelly voice. Then, he pushed the button. Oh.

Xanthy shot out with another stun spell, hitting the heir between the eyes. She dashed forward as the door shook. Voices shouted in muffled tones outside. Hands pounded against the locked door.

She lunged, catching the heir before his limp form hit the ground. Window. She swung the heir up her shoulders and sent her magic towards what she hoped was glass. Thousands of multicolored shards erupted from the window panes, showering Xanthy and the heir as she ran straight through it. She came straight outside, emerging by the front of the Temple. Should she have used the front entrance from the start?

Yes, you should have had. The Arbotro replied. Cheeky.

Well, thanks a lot, Xanthy snapped, fixing her grip on the unconscious heir. She shoved her hands into her pocket and closed her hands on the cold stone inside. She thought of a place, rather, a person. Bring me home.

She was long gone before the rest of the temple guards on night duty reached the Crown Prince's containment room. Tomorrow's going to be a long day for them.

Xanthy slammed into something hard as she was thrown out of the sirtya's influence. Ugh. She's been getting hurt quite a lot lately. A groan escaped her lips as she pushed herself up, letting her eyes adjust to the low light of her new location.

"Xanthy!" June's familiar voice first registered. Then a second, female voice she didn't recognize shouted, "Ari!"

June yanked her away so fast she was forced to cling to his arms as her rear bumped and slid across the dusty wooden floor. Must he do that?

"What did you do to him?" the female voice demanded, brilliant green eyes burning through Xanthy's. Her features registered to Xanthy's brain—luscious blond hair, the slim curve of hips, and the sleek cut of her cheekbones. She was beautiful. Then, Xanthy noticed the x-shaped scar on the woman's right cheek, stretching all the way up to her brows and down to her neck. Oh.

Xanthy's head spun as she pushed herself up. The side of her face felt sore to touch. She dusted her clothes and sighed. "It's a simple stun spell that he should be waking up from any time now," she said. "Now, who are you and where am I?"

True enough, the heir groaned. His tan complexion almost made him blend with the wooden floor in the moonslight combined with the dim light from the fire burning from a hearth. The blond girl clicked her tongue. "You're in one of our hideouts," she gave Xanthy a brief look before turning to help the heir up. "Ari, it's me. Lufi."

Ariden massaged his temples. He raised his head to take a look around him. "What am I doing out of the Temple?"

Lufi raised an eyebrow to Xanthy's direction. "What, indeed?" she said more to Xanthy than to Ariden.

"Look, whoever you guys are, we meant no harm," Xanthy showed her palms in a gesture of surrender.

Lufi scoffed, crossing her arms. "Yeah, no harm," her tone was flat and unimpressed. "What business do you have with him?"

"Who are you, people?"

"The Cutlasses," June muttered with a cough. Xanthy whirled to him.

"What? Seriously?" Her eyes widened when June nodded. This girl, Lufi, was a member of that infamous thief gang that stumped even the Avaloran force?

"Yes, witch," Lufi turned to one of her companions with bulging biceps and a dark complexion. It was the one who restrained Xanthy earlier. Xanthy would need to have a word with him one day or another. "Ralei, take care of Ariden for me."

The big guy grunted and scooted aside to offer the heir his seat beside the fire. Silence followed as Ariden sank into place. Beside the large man, Ariden looked like a branch against a tree trunk. "Lufi, stand down," Ariden's tone resembled an order, his deep voice somewhat inconsistent with his scrawny frame. He rubbed the back of his neck and jerked his chin towards Xanthy. "She did get me out of that infernal hole. I have her to thank for that."

She gave the heir a curt nod. Ariden exhaled through his nose before slapping his knees and turning to them. "So? What is it?"

Xanthy blinked. "What?"

"Why did you go through all the trouble of rescuing me from the Temple?" Ariden smiled as if the hostility between them earlier didn't exist. "Most importantly, who are you?"

Witch is a derogatory term in Umazure derived from an elven equivalent. This stems from a dormant but ongoing feud between fairies and elves following the events of the Hundred Years' War.