"URAH!"

The practice dummy fell over with a dull thud on the floor, pummeled to bits with its arms now missing and straw fluttering down all around it.

Rene wiped sweat from his brow with a contented sigh. The Blitz technique Master Samson taught him made him feel utterly powerful, so much so that his skin tingled and his heart was pounding with joy. He made his way over to the line of stools along the back wall and sat down for a breather.

Just as he was thinking about going to see Miss Sasha in the kitchen about some fresh water for a hard-working martial artist, a familiar minty fluffy head poked around the corner.

"Wow," she stepped into the room, looking around as if expecting to see other people training as well.

"You saw?" Rene couldn't help the wide grin come across his face as he said this. Gemma nodded at him, continuing towards him while taking in the aftermath of his training session. Straw was all over the place now and all the other practice dummies were strewn about, most falling apart at the seams save for just a couple cowering together in the corner next to the enormous weapons cabinet.

She brought her hands together in front of her once she came to a stop close by, "Hold out your hands?" Gemma looked at him shyly.

Curious about what the girl was up to, he nodded and held up his large, calloused hands next to her small thin fingers. Then little lime green sparks jumped out of her palms and bounced over to his skin.

Before he could ask what in the world she was doing, he felt the effects of the sparks as they bubbled and absorbed into his hands. It felt as if tendrils of light were rushing into his arms and spread all throughout him as if following along his blood vessels and arteries. His tired muscles were easing and the scuffs on his knuckles disappeared altogether.

"WOAH!" He couldn't help exclaiming, causing the mage the jump and the sparks skittered away with a puff of steam. "How did you do that?!" Rene was on his feet now, mouth agape as he inspected his hands and arms. Within seconds he went from feeling the burn from a good training session to as spry and energetic as if he had woken up from a great night's sleep!

Gemma stammered, "Well I, um, it just comes naturally to me." She shuffled away from the prince, cheeks pink.

Rene couldn't keep the smile off his face, "Wow, Ron told me you can use magic, but it's so amazing to see it up close like this!" He started squatting and stretching his limbs all around as he continued, "I mean, I saw you using fire spells, but I didn't know you can use that magic to heal too!"

"I'm glad it helped you," Gemma replied. Her face was getting pinker. Was she embarrassed of her magic? Rene stopped his stretching and clapped his hands together with inspiration.

"Hey, do ya think you could teach me magic too?" he crouched down so he was eye level with the mage. She couldn't look away from his intense stare.

"I-I'm not sure if I can…" she said, wringing her hands into the front of her dress. Rene kept watching her, not wavering while she bit her lip and looked down at the straw at her feet.

"Wait, that energy you use for your fighting? What is that exactly?" Gemma looked back up at him.

Rene straightened and screwed his face up in thought. He had always had trouble verbalizing what his master had taught him over the years. Sheamus was usually the one to explain to the travelers who would pass by during their journeys. He always spoke so confidently about their teachings, just like his father. He always had such pride in his voice, especially once the travelers started oooo-ing and ahh-ing about how amazing it all was.

"It's kinda like trying to focus really hard on the energy within myself? Like around the gut area," He pointed at his stomach, nodding at himself as he spoke. "I imagine there's a big ball of energy swirling around in there and imagine it coming out and doing what I want."

He dropped his hand when he saw Gemma staring up at him with her mouth slightly open, eyes wide and brows raised. Dang, she must think he sounds like a dunce.

He started rubbing at his temple and scratching through his hairline, "Ha-ha, I know that probably sounds weird, but it's the only way I can think to explain!" Rene grimaced at himself, avoiding looking back at the mage. "Well, I'm gonna go get some water! I'm parched after all that!"

A small hand tugged on his arm when he started walking to the door, "No, wait!"

He stopped trying to get away when he saw how her eyes shone, "I understand what you mean! My magic feels similar!" Her face broke out into a big smile. The girl was damn near hopping up and down in her excitement. "Let's see if I can teach you magic, Rene!"

"Oh yeah! Now we're talkin'!"

And for the next couple hours the pair worked on trying to come up with different ways to get spells to come out of Rene. If his blitzes were similar to magic, then surely, he could cast a fire spell! Gemma described in different ways to help Rene harness his inner energies.

Maybe hold his hands up and aim them at one of the remaining practice dummies and yell "fire!" at it? Maybe try to use his emotions to focus that energy to give more fuel to the fire spells? Happiness to bring a high feeling to his energies? Or anger to churn everything around into a whirlwind?

But after they tried everything Gemma could think of, they stood together facing the dummy dejected. Those black button eyes on the dummy seemed to show relief at not being burned to a crisp.

"Man, maybe my blitzes are just a weird martial arts thing," Rene huffed and puffed, crouching down in the straw. Waving his arms around and trying to force different emotions was making him achier than doing a thousand sit-ups!

Gemma crossed her arms in thought, shaking her head, "The way you described your blitzes is so similar to my magic though…" She took a few steps towards the dummy and shot a ball of fire at it from her hand in frustration.

Rene gasped, "Wait! I have an idea!" He jumped up, fists ready for action, "How's about we combine our power?!"

The mage chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before saying, "Okay, I'll heal your burns if it goes wrong…"

Rene laughed, "It'll work! We gotta try!" He started bouncing on the balls of his feet, loosening up his legs and stretched his arms out above him before bringing them back into fists in his fighting stance.

"On three!" He exclaimed, focusing on the energy in his core. Gemma nodded and faced him.

"One," she said, extending an arm out to him, "Two…" She really hoped he wouldn't get too burnt…

"THREE!" Rene bellowed. Gemma winced as she let her spell fly.

At first, the fire seemed to envelope Rene as if it was going to burn him up, but she felt a surge of power coming from the prince in a sharp burst. And then she saw the pale shimmery light come from Rene and twist up with her fire before it whirled around and with a roar, it splattered onto the practice dummy.

The impact blasted sparks at them and threw them back. Rene managed to stay on his feet with his arms crossed over his face, but Gemma landed on her butt and slid further until she hit the rock wall at the other end of the room. Dust rained down on them from the ceiling and what ever straw that wasn't scorched from the fire flew back and hit the wall all around Gemma. Gemma was rubbing the back of her head where it bumped against the wall. It didn't hit hard enough to leave a knot thankfully.

"Holy cow! That was amazing!" Rene rushed over to the mage and yanked her up by the arm, "Look at that!" He was pointing at the now smoking practice dummy across the room, on the rock floor, defeated.

"We've got to do that again!" Rene pulled her into a bear hug, sweeping her literally off her feet like she was a rag doll.

Taking in deep breaths, Gemma laughed, "Yeah, hopefully it'll work again."

"It will, it will!" Rene put her back down before running to the last practice dummy so he could replace the newly demolished one. Parts of it disintegrated when he picked it up, which made him smile wider. He tossed it to the other side of the room, adding ashes to the mess that was covering the floor.

This was the most fun he'd had during a training session in years!

Once the last fresh dummy was in place, Rene went to the center of the room and resumed his fighting stance.

Gemma stood off to the side, hand outstretched at the prince, "Okay, like before?"

He nodded, and after counting down, fire flew and his blitz energy transformed the flames into a mighty burst that rolled into the dummy, but this time the impact seemed more contained to just the target. They were not shoved away by the blast. Only sparks jumped around in the air before fizzling into smoke.

Dumbstruck, Gemma looked to Rene, "Did you do that? Or was my spell not strong enough?"

Rene shook his head, "No, it felt the same when it hit me this time! I focused super hard on making it only hit the dummy though!"

Upon closer inspection when Gemma got near the remains, she saw how there was a sort of ring scorched onto the stone floor. He had certainly contained the blast. If only they had more targets! Who knew what else they could do with their mix of magic and blitz?

She glanced over and saw Rene plop down onto one of the stools lining the back wall with a goofy smile on his face. "Man, maybe if we keep practicing together, you think I could conjure up my own fire sometime instead of borrowing yours, Gemma?"

The mage joined him at the stools, "After seeing this, I guess anything is possible!" She sat next to him with a sigh, "This was a lot of fun, Rene."

He stretched his arms up, causing his shoulder joints to crack and pop. He looked down at her once he rested his hands on his knees, definitely feeling the burn in his muscles now. She was looking up at the ceiling as if trying to read some secret message written on the rocks, her fluffy head leaned back against the wall.

He looked up at the ceiling too, "There's nothing like a good training session to help clear my mind."

"Yeah," Her smile had faded. "Everything is getting foggy again in my mind though. I don't know what to do."

"All right, I'll be honest with ya girlie, I'm not too good with all of this serious war stuff that Ron and them keep talking about," Rene gave her arm a nudge with his, "But, I do know that I trust my brother completely. He's always thought about what's best for everybody else and what's fair."

Gemma looked over at the prince, "I suppose that's what makes him a good king." She closed her eyes with a smile and whispered, "Cure."

A big bubble of sage green emerged from her and enveloped them both inside. Before Rene could ask what in blazes it was, the bubble popped, and the spell soaked into them. The rushing effects of the spell made his head spin as he felt that light wipe away his weariness at a much faster rate than earlier.

He made a mental note to ask her how to cast that spell too.

"Well, well, well! Who could have guessed that I would find you two training together!" Roni's grand voice filled the room. He was walking towards the pair, arms outstretched as if he planned to embrace them both. "I suppose the Reigniters will need to invest in more sturdy equipment if we're going to be sticking around judging by the destruction!"

The king dropped to one knee before Gemma and stole her hand for a kiss in greeting. She just gave him one of her shy little smiles in return. Her cheeks didn't get pink for him though. Perhaps his brother's antics with the girl had lost their luster already.

"Hey bro! Finished with all of your yakking with Aaron?" Rene stood from his seat and gave Roni a hug. The king gave him a sharp look, that same look he used to give him when they were boys and Rene was about to blabber all their pranks to their mother. It always made him feel like he got his hand smacked. He clammed up. He saw that Gemma's smile dropped at the mention of Aaron.

"Actually, I was in the study doing some reading. I recognized some of the titles from our father's old collection." Roni chuckled, "What an interesting coincidence. I wonder if our treasure hunter friend has anything to do with it?" He crouched down in front of Gemma, tapping his index finger to his lips in thought.

"Maybe you can ask her at dinner later?" Gemma replied, giving him a giggle. Roni's demeanor had changed from his usual confident lady killer persona to something softer, more kind while he agreed with Gemma.

Rene offered a hand to Roni to help him back up, "So Ron, did you happen to overhear what we were talking about?" He ignored his brother mouthing at him to shut up. Rene knew he couldn't offer much help besides being extra muscle. The mage needed to hear from somebody who knew about all the strategizing and fine details.

Only hearing bits and pieces from his master over the years about what the Empire has been up to didn't mean Rene knew anything. He was as new to all this Reigniter stuff as Gemma was. All the hush hush wouldn't help anybody with deciding on what to do.

Realizing that Rene wouldn't let the king try to charm his way out of talking, Roni gave a heavy exhale through his nose.

"Yes, I didn't mean to intrude." Roni leaned down to grab both of Gemma's hands in his to pull her up from her stool. She allowed this, her legs looked a bit shaky. Maybe casting that healing spell made her weak? Healing wounds but taking up stamina?

"What do you think I should do, Roni?" Gemma asked, now looking from the king to the prince, worry painting her face. She still held onto Roni's hands while she waited for his answer.

Her directness made Rene raise an eyebrow. He snapped it back down before Gemma could notice. He saw his brother swallow hard. He must not have been expecting to have this conversation.

"Okay, I can give you two different answers, my dear. One answer is as a king, and the other is as your friend. I won't try to guilt or coerce you with theatrics, so do keep that in mind." The mage gave him a nod.

"By helping the Reigniters with this war, you will be helping us achieve peace. Our enemy is ruthless, as you've seen and experienced firsthand, and your special…abilities would be extremely useful. I believe in this cause because I wish for a better future for my kingdom, for the whole world. My father joined in with the resistance when I was young because he saw what the Empire was trying to accomplish and knew that he needed to do everything within his power to protect his kingdom. I am following in those footsteps." Roni paused, looking at their joined hands.

A smile spread on his face as he continued, "As your friend, I believe that by helping us you may be able to learn more about yourself. We'll be able to travel and seeing different places may trigger memories that have been hidden away by that slave crown."

Curiosity bubbled around in Rene's head. What were these hidden memories? How many had she already told Roni and Keylla about? Dang, he felt like such a Nosy Nancy.

"As odd as it may sound to you both, any reason to join us is a good reason. Some are helping due to selfish reasons such as wanting to make amends for loved ones they have lost when their homes were destroyed and wishing for vengeance. Some are working for the good of humanity." The king now looked at his brother, his eyes were shining brilliantly.

"All of those reasons are okay at the end of the day. When people are driven towards a common goal together, they can grow, and be able to help build hope for the world."

Rene couldn't help but smile at his brother. He spoke like a true king.

Gemna seemed to be moved by the speech, her eyes were glistening. "I hope that I can find my reason soon…" She dropped her gaze to the floor and let her hands slip from Roni's. "I'll see you two later." And with that, the mage hurried from the room, ashes stuck to her boots and made footprints in her wake.

The prince turned to his brother after waiting for the sound of her footsteps to disappear, hand on his hip, "You've gotten really good at speechifying, Ron. Lots of practice during your kingly duties?"

Roni sighed at Rene, "I was being honest with her, dear brother." He folded his arms and rolled his eyes. "I'm hurt that you think I was being dramatic!"

Rene shrugged at him, "Heh, well I'm glad that you actually talked to her about it instead of letting her flounder."

"I suppose it's better for her to hear different perspectives on the matter." Roni took a step closer, "Did I sound too much like Aaron?"

The grimace on his face made Rene start laughing. Seeing annoyance spark on his twin's face got Rene laughing harder which earned him a slap on the shoulder.

"Nah! You were nowhere near as grumpy about it!" Rene managed to say before snorting and slapping back at Roni's arm.

Roni shook his head at his twin, "Thanks, sort of."

And with that, the pair left the training room and followed the hall down to the common room. The smell of spices drifted out from the back kitchens. Rene had finally stopped snickering at his brother. He was too sensitive about his kingly abilities! The fact that Gemma started tearing up showed how well Roni could convey his feelings behind his words.

As they took seats at one of the freshly scrubbed tables, Rene kept thinking about his own reasons for wanting to help. He knew that Master Samson would rest easier knowing that his teachings would help bring peace to the world. If there was one thing Rene had always been good at, it was putting up a good fight.

Gemma had been trying to avoid thinking about the question all day, but everywhere she turned, everyone she found, no matter the distraction, she just couldn't shake it.

She could tell that Roni was trying to be kind and reassuring that morning. Offering support, no matter what she chose to do.

But Roni was a king. He had a castle that had just gotten attacked to think about. He had a city that was full of people he cared for. His entire kingdom rested on his shoulders, and his decisions did not just affect himself, but the lives of thousands of people.

Despite Roni's pretty words, Gemma could tell that he was praying with all of his heart that she would help the Reigniters, and in turn, his kingdom.

Then there was her first ever friend, Keylla. Wouldn't she be biased too? She was a Reigniter after all. They all want her help.

Everything was moving so fast ever since she woke up in Gelid.

Running, hiding, fighting, traveling. Always on the move.

Nearly every time Gemma had moments alone, moments to catch her breath and try to still her whirling mind and pounding heart, snippets of what had to be her past would resurface. Even in her sleep, she could not escape for long.

The dream with that silver haired boy stuck out in her mind as the only good memory so far, but even it was soured by that man at the end. The disdain in his voice when he spoke about her testing made her wonder if he worried about her.

At the castle, he kept screaming for her, screaming that she belonged to him. He wanted her. His voice was so desperate. He had magic of his own and it was so powerful, so why did he want her so badly?

Gemma at last came to the room she slept in the night before and upon opening the door, found Keylla inside pulling her shirt over his head. A clean gray tank top was on the bed with her midnight blue jacket.

"Ah! Hey!" She struggled with the shirt and jerked to face the wall.

"It's just me," Gemma closed the door behind her and took only one step to reach the chair and sat down. She unbuttoned her pack to retrieve a fresh pair of stockings.

The thief let out a puff of air, "Phew, thought it might've been some pervert king. Never know who his next victim will be." Her bandanas were askew after toiling with swapping his shirts out. She flashed her a smile while undoing one of her bandanas to fix it back in place.

Gemma let her stockings rest in her lap and motioned with her hands for Keylla to come closer. She reached up and grabbed Keylla's bandana to take over. The treasure huntress leaned down and let Gemma get to work. Keylla angled her nose away from her. She settled her pale doe platinum hair into place and made the first knot.

One of Keylla's ruby beaded earrings was tucked up into a purple scarf, and while she carefully freed it, she murmured, "I still don't know what to do, Keylla."

Her eyebrows raised a bit. Gemma reached up to settle another one of his bandanas back where it should be and continued, "Can you tell me why you joined the Reigniters?"

She turned away when Gemma had finished with her hair, staying quiet. Deciding to go ahead and change her stockings while Keylla had her back turned, Gemma said, "Roni and Rene told me why they're helping. They're both so full of purpose…what's your reason?"

She watched Keylla sit down on the bed opposite her in the tiny room. She intertwined his fingers together and her slate eyes were trained on the floor. "There was an attack on my home village. A lot of people died." She wouldn't look at her.

"All I could do was run and hide in the woods to wait it out. I'd never felt so helpless before," her hands were shaking as she spoke. "That was the first time I had ever seen Magitech armor, too."

A shiver went down Gemma's spine. Wait a minute. She poured through everything she could remember while she stared at Keylla's hands grasping each other.

The question spilled out of her mouth before she could stop, "Wait, d-did I-?" No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember being part of an attack on a village that wasn't Gelid. How could she stand to be in the same room as her?

Keylla looked at her now paling face. Both of Gemma's hands jumped up to cover her mouth. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes, so she squeezed them shut. She couldn't look at Keylla.

"What? Gemma, no, you didn't do any of that!" The imperial witch felt one of Keylla's hands pull at her forearm, causing her to nearly slide off the chair. She braced herself with her feet. "You couldn't have been part of that attack. You were way too young!"

"How long ago?" She let Keylla take her other arm, but she still couldn't open her eyes.

"Mmm, about eight years ago? I was sixteen when it happened. But I had been hanging out with a few members awhile before actually joining."

Keylla's hands slid down to hold hers. She had stopped shaking. "Back then, I thought it would be cool to travel with the Reigniters and make a name for myself. That attack is what lit a fire under my ass to commit to joining the cause. After losing him." She cut herself off abruptly.

Gemma peeked up at Keylla and saw the treasure huntress shake her head, "After losing so many people that I loved, I wanted to try to do something to prevent more people from ending up like me."

She looked at their joined hands between them. Relief washed over her that she wasn't part of that attack. Guilt still muddied those feelings though. How much destruction and bloodshed has Keylla seen over the years? It was surprising that she wanted to be near her at all.

"I'm sorry," Gemma looked up at his face. She had not seen Keylla's eyes so full of pain before, but resolve was there too. Determination. She wanted to turn that pain into change. She nodded at her, accepting her apology and gave her hands a squeeze.

She bit the inside of her cheek, "I'm going to help." Saying it out loud made some of the fog in her head clear. The thief pulled her close in a tight hug before she could try to say anything else.

Inhaling deeply into Keylla's shoulder, Gemma felt the weight of the decision anchor her down. Instead of running, wanting to curl up and hide, a new feeling bloomed for her. Uncertainty was still present, but with it now was a yearning to move forwards, away from the horrors of her past. By joining the Reigniters, Gemma knew that she could become more than a weapon for the Empire.

She wanted to become herself at last.