Ariadne turned and ran.

She pushed aside Orin's hand when he went to stop her, and she kept on running. Ariadne raced back down through the corridors littered with glass, not giving a care in a the world when her shoes crunched on any shards in her way.

The sound of running footsteps sounded behind her. Ariadne pushed herself and she shot forward in a burst of speed. The corridors began to blur as she sped past them. Her lungs expanded to let in more air, and fresh air filled her lungs. Ariadne turned, and raced up the small staircase that led to her room, all but flying up them. The footsteps behind her were relentless, but she didn't look back, she couldn't, not now.

The door loomed in front of her, and in a swift movement, she opened the door and skidded inside, locking it behind her.

Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as the race caught up to her and her chest heaved up and down. Somehow she had left behind her worries of being seen and had tapped into her full Fae instincts, using the unnatural speed that they were famous for.

Her hands shook, and her knees gave way as the cool floor met her. Her knees barked in pain, shooting up her legs, but it burned away. The familiar itching crept along her arms.

A few, short knocks sounded at the door.

"Ari, let me in," Kallen called through the door.

The air popped beside her and Iyrena appeared, she bent down, her delicate dress pooling around her as she laid her hands on Ariadne's shoulders.

Iyrena scanned Ariadne's face, her eyes were bloodshot, and her skin looked an unhealthy shade of white tinged with green. Altoria was taking its toll on her only remaining family member. Iyrena was done with living in fear, living with the torture of her past. If she could save Ariadne from the same fate, she would. So she enveloped Ariadne in a gentle hug and whispered in her ear.

"As long as you refuse him entry, he cannot cross that threshold."

Ariadne saw it for it was, a heaven sent way out. Without hesitation she took it, leaping away from everything she thought she knew.

"No!" Ariadne stood up, her hands stopped shaking, and faint traces of flames licked at her fingertips.

Ariadne walked towards the door, she turned her head over her shoulder once, to look at Iyrena. Iyrena shook her head once.

"Stand your ground. Fight back," it was both a warning and a plea.

"What do you mean no. Ari let me in," Kallen's voice was hard, empty of everything that Ariadne had come to cherish.

"I said no! I'm done with being a prisoner." Ariadne laid her head against the wood, hand placed on the bevelled edge.

"You have never been a prisoner here," Kallen replied.

Ariadne swallowed past the lump in her throat, she stretched out a hand behind her, and a moment later Iyrena's warm palm slipped into hers. The warmth of a familiar touch soothed Ariadne's aching heart. Somwhere inside of her, something shattered.

Iyrena gasped.

Ariadne's skin tingled and she pushed away from the door.

"What have you done?" Iyrena whispered, horrified.

Ariadne walked past Iyrena, and faced the mirror in her room.

Her hair was flame and it cascaded in big, tight curls down her back. Her feline face had come back, her eyes glowed a rich amber. Embers danced in her eyes and fire kissed every inch of her bare skin and she seemed to glow. Ariadne looked gloriously untamed. A force of nature. This was who she was, she would hide no more.

Ariadne turned to Iyrena. When she spoke her voice was rich, layered with deep, rumbling tones. It lilted a certain way, and her lips quirked up in a smile.

"I became who I was meant to be."

Iyrena took a step back, and bumped up against the edge of Ariadne's bed. Her hands scrambled to grab any part of it behind her.

"You silly child. You have no idea what you have done!" Iyrena's voice was sad, it had a desperate edge to it.

Ariadne gave her step sister a withering glare.

"You've never had it in you to embrace what you are. Even now you deny it to me. To yourself. You're weak. Why would I ever want to be like you," Ariadne scoffed.

Iyrena's eyes filled with tears, and she looked away from Ariadne. Iyrena backed towards the door. The truth of Ariadne's words scorched her skin. It wrapped its fiery tendrils around her heart, and the stone encasing it cracked. She shook her head repeatedly.

"I refuse to believe you would say those things. This your Pheonix talking. Not you."

Ariadne shrugged.
"Believe what you want. I won't live in a cage anymore," Ariadne tossed her hair over her shoulder.

Iyrena cowered against the door, as her hand crept towards the door handle.

"Ari!! Who are you talking to in there?" Kallen yelled.

"Not you, that's for sure," Ariadne yelled back.

Iyrena took her chance, turned the handle and slipped through the gap.

The door blasted all the way open and Kallen stood there. Iyrena now stood behind him. Her eyes full of tears.

Ariadne looked at the pitiful duo those two made. It was almost laughable. Pain lanced her side, and she gripped it. Her hands tore at the dress she wore as she tried to find the cause for her pain.

"M'anam come back to me," Kallen pleaded.

"No. This is not the way it's meant to be. Don't lie!"

"M'anam... There are many paths for each of us. Which ones we walk are up to us. Just please, do not choose this one," Kallen walked through the door; or he tried to.

A glowing barrier of gold stopped him. It ran the length and breadth of the doors. It sparked when his hands touched the edges.

Ariadne tutted at him.
"I told you no more cages, you didn't listen, and now you'll pay the price."

Kallen struggled against the golden barrier. It sparked as embers arced all around the room and died when they bounced off the floor. Kallen frowned, his brows furrowed deeply. Chasms crossed his forehead and split his skin. Iyrena leant over his shoulder and flicked each corner of the shield. Cracks blossomed and formed an intricate tree pattern across it.

It was a huge oak, it's branches spanned the whole width of the barrier, It was huge, beautiful and it snapped something into place in Ariadne's mind.

With one last tap of her fingers, Iyrena broke the barrier.

Ariadne glared at her.

"Why?"

"To protect you," Iyrena sobbed.

Kallen swept forward.

The edges of the room around Ariadne turned black. Colours leached from the people around her. Iyrena's amber eyes turned grey, then her skin. Then the dark mahogany wood turned black.

"What's happening to me," Ariadne gasped.

Kallen raced forward and caught her. His face was bent over hers. His lips moved silently.

"What's happening to me," she yelled.

Her heart was cold inside of her chest.
Kallen's hand swept across her forehead and down her cheek. Somewhere in the distance, muffled voices reached her.

"...It took too much. She was not ready."

"I was afraid this would happen. I warned you!"

"None of us saw this coming. We could not have stopped it."

Kallen's lips brushed over Ariadne's forehead and her eyelids fluttered closed. Darkness claimed her.

***********

Kallen paced the infirmary. Ariadne lay quiet and still on the bed. The covers were all the way up over her chest, a damp towel was folded over her feverish skin.

A servant in a plain blue dress and white apron tended to her. The servants brow was creased with worry as her hands shook. The bowl she was carrying crashed to the floor and Kallen stepped forward, and caught it as it bounced.

The servant rushed to apologise.

"I-im sorry your majesty, please excuse me," she turned and stood before dipping into a deep curtsy.

"It is clear to me you care for her a great deal," Kallen motioned for her to stand up straight.

The servant nodded, but did not meet his gaze. This creature puzzled him. Her cheeks were blushed pink, and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. Her hair was plain, and so was her face, unremarkable compared to those of the Fae he was accustomed to. Her brown hair was swept under a cotton cap, and a few tendrils clung to the sides of her face.

"What is your name?" Kallen asked.

"K-kendra your majesty."

"Kendra...why does that name seem familiar?"

"I am Lady Ari's only servant, your majesty."

Kallen nodded. This he knew to be true. It still did not explain the blush that crept on to her cheeks. He stepped back and sat in the chair near Ari's bed.

"Lady Ari is in safe hands with you, do you mind if I stay," Kallen asked.

"No, go ahead, a familiar face will be what she needs when she wakes," Kendra busied herself with cleaning up the spill.

Kallen watched as Kendra cleared up the station at the end of the room with capable hands. Kallen did not fail to notice Kendra's efficency, the girl was quick on her feet, eloquent and had a wonderful demeanour. No wonder why Ari had become fast friends with her. Ari thought he had not noticed, but he had.

He watched as Kendra came back over and re-wet the towel. Kendra wrung out the excess water into an empty bucket and laid it carefully over Ari's forehead. Kendra's cheeks blushed pink and Kallen tilted his head.

Once the towel was back on Ari's forehead, Kendra picked up the bucket and walked out of the room. Kallen steepled his fingers in front of his chin. It was clear to anyone that was looking, that Kendra loved Ari, but would Ari return it, who knew.

His thoughts were interrupted as Iyrena waltzed through the doors on soft feet. Iyrena stopped before him. It had become clear rather quickly, that the both of them shared blood. Even if it was just their father. Yes, he had figured that out too. Despite Ari's insistence when they met that she had known nothing. He had figured it out quicker than Ari had probably liked.

Things were progressing quicker than he wanted, and this was all his fault. Iyrena placed a gentle hand on top of his, and he looked up at her. Not one trace of Lorelei sat there. Even her own blood had forsaken her. He almost felt sorry for Lorelei, but he did not.

"Someone is going to have to go with her when she goes looking for our father," Iyrena sat on the edge of Ari's bed.

"Ari cannot leave Altoria. We are M'anam. If she leaves, she will die," Kallen rested his head in his hands.

"So it is true, what Lena said?"

Kallen nodded.

"How did things get so fucked up," Iyrena sighed.

Kallen stared at her, taken aback at her language. It was not like Iyrena to curse. Indeed, things were "fucked up" but he knew better than to tempt the God's so he remained silent.

"Will you go with her?" Iyrena asked quietly.

"You know I cannot. Altoria is dying. I need to find her, here look," he pulled out a dried stem of wheat out of his pocket.

Several groups of scouting parties had returned from their mission several days ago, and had placed basket upon basket filled with dead crops at his feet. They had been filled with dead wheat, crumbling herbs and even the occasional dead chicken. It had swept across the wheat fields first, and spread in land. It had currently paused at the edge of the vineyards.

Kallen needed to act, and soon.

"What better way to find your queen, then to go on a quest with her," Iyrena lowered her voice.

"She will need someone more powerful than me to go with her, I will not be enough, you saw what she was capable of, and she is not even trained, yet," Kallen sighed.

"Then be the one to train her..." Iyrena insisted.

"Why me?"

"Because, brother you are the only who can reach her," Lena stepped through the doors, carrying the yellow vellum book under her arm.