The tunnels beneath the city were dark, damp and cold. Made more for defense and the quick transport of troops, no consideration was given to the occupant's comfort, or visibility. It was not a place that one would typically enter willingly.

Erin walked quietly, staying close to the walls, her eyes wide open and alert for any possible movement within the shadows. It was a bewildering maze of passages, but Erin kept her artifact in hand, moving towards the center of town... towards Gerald's location. Finally she came to a tunnel with two guards standing on either side of it. Their appearances only partially illuminated by magical lighting, Erin could see the masks and cloaks worn by the terrorist group.

As she prepared her ambush she studied their rigid, disciplined stance and couldn't help wondering further.

Is this really an anti-magic group like Frederick was thinking? What was their involvement with the prince then? Their interest in the border patrols? Nothing makes sense.

Shaking her head to clear it, Erin began. First, she tried casting an illusion, but had some difficulty holding it in place. Without strong emotions... she briefly considered thinking about what happened to Gerald to make herself angry again, but with a shudder discarded that idea. There was a dark place within her, a place filled with agony and rage, and staying far away from it was better.

It was inconvenient to not always have access to her illusion abilities, however.

Instead, She activated her physical enhancement and wind magic as much as possible, carrying herself faster than the eye could follow.

"What the...!" Before the two guards could react, both fell to the ground, one with a blade sunk into their throat, another through the eye. As blood pooled around their quickly cooling corpses, Erin quickly and emotionlessly searched their clothing for any hint of their identity. There was something familiar, each time she saw them: the way they stood, the way they moved, the way they fought. Erin couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She continued to move forward through the dark tunnel, carefully listening for sounds of further guards up ahead, and thought about the conversation that had brought her here:

"Erin!" Catherine had been shocked to see her show up in her room that morning, once she had left from spying on the meeting in the seventh tower. "Are you okay?"

Even as Gerald's older sister asked after her wellbeing, Erin got the sense that the young woman was leaning away, afraid of her. She sighed quietly. It was a feeling that she knew all too well. It was the same look she had seen in the eyes of servants, soldiers, other children... anyone who had encountered her while she was still training under her father.

They had seen what she was capable of. The monster she could be. The one he had shaped in his own image.

None of this showed on her face as she smiled lightly at Catherine, pretending not to notice her fear.

"I'm fine. I hid out in the seventh tower and witnessed the meeting."

Briefly she described the conversation between Richard and the masked man.

"That idiot!" Catherine cursed, "He's betrayed the country!"

"What's more important are the plans they were discussing... the ones regarding the competition later today."

"What do you think they will do?"

"My guess is... given their previous movements, they are likely to set off an explosion... a large one. Near the stage." Erin's mouth went dry as she spoke about it, fear clawing at her throat as she considered that Gerald might be in danger. "We need to stop the competition, tell the king and queen."

"No!" Catherine held up a hand, interrupting her, thinking hard. "This is an opportunity. We can't tell anyone, because we don't know if there are other traitors. We need to find the explosive, and disable it. If we stop the plan... it might flush out the one's expecting the stage to blow up."

Erin shook her head, worried. "But..."

"Let's do it this way. One of us finds the bomb, disables it, the other stays at the event. If it's getting close to the final round, when you said their plan was to act during, then we'll evacuate the stage. I promise. We won't let anyone get hurt."

"Then I should be the one to look for the explosive."

"Can you disable it?"

Erin's grin was slightly off kilter, "It's likely a fire element artifact, unless it's level five, it will disintegrate on contact."

"... you have level five fire abilities...?" Catherine hesitated, and then cleared her throat. "Never mind, it's better if I don't ask." She leaned forward then, grabbing Erin's hands." "Listen, there's a series of tunnels underneath the city, used for defense under siege. It's a well kept secret of the royal family and their personal guard, but if Richard is a traitor... that's the easiest way to hide something large at the event."

"If it's such a big secret, why are you telling me?"

A quiet laugh answered her. "My brother trusts you, so I guess I should too."

"Fine then. I will find the artifact and destroy it, you keep an eye out to see if anyone acts suspiciously when the explosion doesn't go off."

Erin's hands tightened on the other woman's. "Make sure you evacuate the participants if I don't succeed before the final round. Don't let anything happen to him."

"I won't, I promise."

"Good, then I'll trust you too."

Now as Erin made her way under the city, ignoring the stench of stagnant water and blood. She hoped desperately that they were right in their prediction of what was about to happen. If they were wrong...? She couldn't think about that further.

She was slightly distracted with her concerns, not recognizing she wasn't alone until she ran into the next guard after rounding a corner. They stared at each other in shock for a moment, and then both leapt into action. Erin used wind magic to seal the sounds in the hallway, hoping to prevent the guard from calling out. She also leapt back, trying to put distance between herself and the larger man. The masked guard, his hands moving quickly, grasped a hidden blade at his side and sent it flying in her direction. Her body moved on instinct, even as the familiar action forced her to remember what she desperately didn't want to:

Erin was twelve. It had been over a year since her mother was murdered before her eyes. Her father, once an indifferent, judging presence, was now always nearby, obsessed with making her stronger. He promised her his training methods would raise her level of ability. Any complaints or concerns were met with force. She was not allowed to refuse.

It had been more than two days since the last time Erin had slept. Sometimes she saw things in the corners of her eyes. She was never quite sure if she were awake or asleep. As awful as being awake was, she was terrified she might be asleep, terrified she might just be dreaming. If her father caught her sleeping, he would hurt her until she woke. Erin was sure she might never sleep again. How long had it been since she last ate or drank? Hunger and thirst were a constant companion along with the pain.

The pain.

A broken clavicle, multiple cracked ribs, two fingers in her left hand...each injury screamed for attention, but she didn't dare stop, didn't dare cry. Any hesitation could mean her death.

She was fighting again. Her father often brought soldiers from his special forces, to face her over and over. These hardened men fought without mercy, never questioning a commander that demanded they treat a young girl like an enemy.

Erin tried to activate her fire magic, but her pain and exhaustion sapped her ability, a small flame started on the soldier's clothes and was quickly put out. He reached to his side, bringing forth a hidden blade. This was a common move, one she had seen many times before. Erin tried to dodge, but her tired feet betrayed her, tripping her and bringing her forward towards the projectile instead. It sank into her thigh, causing her to fall to the ground with a scream of pain.

Erin tried to stand up, but it was no use. She had no more strength. She cried silently still trying to get to her feet, her movements frantic as she heard her father's slow footsteps move forward. He used his foot to turn her over, ignoring her moan as the knife shifted in her thigh.

His face was expressionless.

"If you weren't worthless this wouldn't have happened."

He pulled the knife out and walked away.

Erin's mind cleared but she was staring down at an unconscious man. His knife was in her hand, the blade cutting into her skin. She had caught it, and must have knocked him out with the handle. Her breaths came in gasps as she tried to slow her panicked heartbeat.

I'm not home anymore. She reassured herself. I survived, I got away. Aunt Elsinore suppressed my powers, causing my father to give up on me as completely useless. I'm okay.

But even as she thought it, a sense of despair welled up within her. She knew the truth. She wasn't okay. Not anymore.

She stared down at the man, he was already stirring. He must have only been stunned by her blow. Thinking quickly, she activated her mental reinforcement magic, trying to disperse his concentration rather than enhance it. Drawing on the despair she felt from her memories, she pushed forward an illusion of her father, kneeling over the soldier. She willed him to hear her father speak.

"Take me to the explosive, soldier."

The masked man, already confused and dazed, saluted and started walking down the tunnel. Erin could only hope he could focus enough to know where he was going. Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to lead her to a large room with two more guards around a metal box.

"Stay here." She instructed the man. He saluted once more and stood at attention, swaying slightly on his feet. Erin neared the entrance, planning her attack. With a bit of concentration, she started off with filling the room with golden flames, setting both of them ablaze. As they tried to escape, Erin moved forward, her fire not touching her clothes or skin. She grabbed their knives, right where she expected to find them, and grabbed one by the hair, slitting his throat, before kicking the other on his back, stabbing him in the heart. The flames died out, and all was silent.

A metal box stood before her on a pedestal. Slowly, she opened the lid, peering inside. It was a large black stone, glowing with magical energy. She let out a sigh of relief.

They were right.

It was a fire artifact, one meant to cause a large explosion.

Reaching forward a trembling hand, she gently laid it on the stone. It shook for a moment, and then crumbled into dust.

"Only a level 4, huh?" She muttered, and then turned back towards the remaining guard who still stood attention in the hall. Her magic was fading, he was blinking rapidly, looking around him in a daze as if wondering how he got there. Erin approached him, her heart beating fast as all the pieces began to click together.

Pulling together some of the last of her magic, she used her anger, putting an image of her father once more.

"Soldier! Identify yourself!"

The man saluted a third time. "Yes Sir, Lieutenant Cander, Alpha Company, Third Battalion, Sionelle Special Forces, Sir!" He then blinked rapidly, shaking his head. "Wait, we weren't supposed to tell anyone..." His eyes widened. "WHO ARE YO..."

Erin shook her head, almost absentmindedly slitting the man's throat before he could continue.

Sitting down against the wall, she held her head in her hands, shaking. She wanted to deny it, to realize she was wrong, but in her heart she knew she was right. It all started to make a terrible sort of sense.

The masked men who were her father's special forces soldiers starting attacks.

Gerald's parents lamenting that the army was spread thin on the borders to help reinforce the capital after the attack.

Richard handing over the border patrolling schedules.

The explosion planned today...

There was never any scheme against the competition... it was all a diversion, to pull as many troops as possible to the capital. This wasn't the target.

The whole country was.

Her father was weakening the border, preparing a surprise attack when they least expected it.

Her father... her country of Sionelle... was invading the Ellurine Alliance... Gerald's home.