After several hours of avoiding Ice Guards and setting fire to my assigned portions of the city, I was finally greeted with a new order, which I welcomed with great enthusiasm. I didn't particularly enjoy being a weapon of mass destruction, as necessary as our task might've been for the Flame's success. It made me feel like an Ice Guard, or worse, a Code. 

"Commander, retreat!" Tamarius Kandain's voice resonated from my earpiece, and I instantly tossed my flamethrower into the skeleton of a burning building. After I was sure that the piece of potential evidence had been destroyed, I ducked behind a pile of rubble, placing one hand on the hilt of my knife and the other on my gun. The other Flames around me, seeing this signal, did the same, disposing of whatever weapon they had in their hands and taking cover. 

Ever since Lady Myers' capture earlier that morning, the Mystic Chief's brother, the Flame's most experienced Order member, had taken temporary control of the rebellion. Our admittedly hastily formed plan was to send a small team, consisting of me, my sister, and two other members of the FAWD, into the dungeons in order to free our leader. This, of course, wouldn't take place until Glaisse's Elitia was sufficiently decimated, and Princess Tara was safely evacuated to Pylea. Lady Myers always put others' safety over her own, and the Order had recognized that, if she had been present, she would've wanted them to do the same. 

Staying in a crouched position, I leaned against the only firm piece of wood that was left of what must have, just that morning, been the home of a very important Lessaenite. I raised my head, gazing up at the clear, cloudless sky and then at the burning city around me. I couldn't believe we had finally done it, and just after what had been a nearly fatal blow to the rebellion, too! This moment was the culmination of all my training, all my missions, and all the effort I had put into climbing to my rank. Now, all I had to do was survive for the next twenty four hours. Just one day, and everything would be alright.

"Meet your unit at Reconnection Zone One, and await further orders," Tamarius added. 

"Yes, Sir," I replied, letting him know that I had heard. 

Reconnection Zone One, otherwise known as Icicle Hall, was even easier to see than it had been before, due to the fact that every structure around it had been thoroughly decimated. I focused my vision on its highest spire, standing up, dusting myself off, and taking off in a sprint in its direction. At this point, the bare Elitia offered no cover whatsoever. In such a situation, speed always beats stealth. 

Yet, I had barely started running when I felt something pulling on the back of my shirt. I whipped around, expecting to have snagged it on something, but found myself face to face with an Ice Guard. 

"I can't believe you, boy," he spat. "Looting stores at a time like this? Don't you know we have more important things than you to be dealing with right now?" 

I looked around, frantically studying the scene that surrounded me. Nearly every possible place to hide was burnt to a crisp, and piles of ash stretched out in all directions as far as the eye could see. 

I had only one hope of escape. 

Kicking the Ice Guard in the knee as hard as I could, I bolted forward, in an attempt to escape his grasp. I felt tremendous pressure for the next few moments as I struggled to move, and heard the distinct sound of the ripping of fabric. 

Then, I was free. 

My shirt, however, was not. 

By the time I noticed that it was no longer on me, it was far too late to turn back. I had gained about twenty yards on the Ice Guard, and was still running at top speed. Unfortunately, it took a few more seconds for a second truth to hit me. 

My Flame tattoo was now completely visible. 

"Rebel!" I heard the Ice Guard's faint scream from somewhere behind me in the middle of my mad dash to the palace. 

Oh, joy. 

Three more Ice Guards almost instantly popped out from behind various pieces of rubble, wielding Auraguns and sick-looking spears. As dumb as they typically were, the Ice Guards had a phenomenal communication system. You had to give them that.

"Don't let him escape!" the first Ice Guard yelled. The four Guards closed in on me, and I veered into a flaming wall to avoid them, crying out in pain as the raging fire seared the exposed flesh of my side. Fortunately, I was able to drop to the ground, both to roll out of the Ice Guards' way and to make sure that I wouldn't suddenly go up in flames due to my recent contact with the fire. 

That would surely be one of the most pathetic ways to die that I could possibly think of. 

Quickly jumping back to my feet, I continued running. 

Straight into Icicle Hall's tall, metal gate. 

"Gotcha," the first Ice Guard grinned as he and his friends cornered me. "So, Mr. Rebel, where's Princess Tara?" 

"He's not gonna just tell you that, Sam," another Guard rolled his eyes. 

"Report to Reconnection Station One, Commander. Your unit is waiting for you," Tamarius ordered, his voice low and urgent. 

"Aron? You alive?" he added after a few seconds of silence. 

"Yes, but I'm...otherwise occupied at this moment," I muttered as softly as I possibly could while still allowing the microphone to pick up my words. The Ice Guards advanced forward, and I backed into the gate. I bit my teeth at the feeling of the cold, rusty iron on my aching burns. 

With any luck, they'd be infected soon. 

If I lived long enough for that. 

"You have five minutes, Commander, and your unit will have to move on without you," Tamarius warned. 

"Who's he talkin' to?" one of the Ice Guards frowned. 

"He's got an earpiece, dummy," the first Ice Guard- Sam- chuckled. "Let's fix that, shall we? We don't want this little guy calling in any reinforcements on us." He reached for my right ear, and I turned my head instantly the other way, buying myself a moment as I readied my Aura. 

"Sorry, not sorry," I muttered, sending bursts of Aura instantly through my feet. They propelled me over the gate and into the palace's outer courtyard. 

"Get the key, Sam! You've got it, right?" 

"I'm sorry, I left it back at the station." 

"Idiot! Jump over, then!" 

"I can't, it's against the law to forcefully enter the property of a noble."

The Ice Guards' conversation faded into an unintelligible mess as I approached the palace's now unguarded main gate. 

"We've got a visual on you, Commander. The Reconnection Station is to your left," Tamarius said. 

I made a move to head to the small, open space on the left side of Icicle Hall, but was stopped sight by a horrific sight above me. 

Viviana hung, backwards, out of the palace's highest window. Her face radiated pure terror, and she let out a single shriek. Her long, black hair fell out of its elaborate updo, waving like a flag in the wind. 

"Vivi..." I whispered, instantly freezing with my eyes turned upward as the princess was roughly sucked back into the palace by some unseen force. 

"Commander? Why'd you stop. We don't have all day!" Tamarius yelled, starting to sound a little frustrated. 

"Change of plans," I said through gritted teeth, jogging to the blue, ornamented facade that marked the entrance to Icicle Hall. 

"Commander! Where are you going? You'll skew the mission!" Tamarius bellowed, so loudly that the sound of his voice produced a crackling noise inside my earpiece. 

"It's Princess Viviana," I replied, pushing open the tall, ornamented doors, which were, not surprisingly, unlocked. This was probably due to the large flow of servants and other palace staff that had gone through them earlier that day. "She's in the Sanctum with a really powerful Iceheart, possibly the Queen. She'll die if I don't intervene." 

"If the Queen's really in there, you won't survive, either!" 

"At least I'll die trying to save her." 

"Aronel Faerlen, you will exit that palace at once. That's an order!" 

"I'm sorry," I muttered, yanking my earpiece out and tossing it to the floor. Lifting my foot, I brought it down on the small, black device, crushing it. 

On this mission, I was going to need to follow my own orders.