"Wait here."

The attendant motioned to the metal chairs lining the walls outside the military office, before turning and leaving. Erin stood uncertainly in the center of the waiting room, glancing around at the surroundings that had never changed since she was a child, wondering if she had made the right decision. Gerald had desperately wanted to go with her.

"You might need back up, or someone to help you fight your way out at least." He argued, holding on to her hand tightly.

"Thanks, but I really have to do this on my own. He's my father, if he wanted to get rid of me, he has much easier ways to do it then calling me to his office."

He hadn't been convinced. "But... what if you..."

"Gerald." Her voice had been firm. "This is my decision."

His hand tightened for a moment, and then let go. "I'll respect that." He briefly touched her face, his face sad. "But if you need me, don't hesitate to call."

She had left him behind, but now, standing in front of the door that led to her father, she felt very much alone. This room was so familiar, how many times had she sat here, filled with anticipation, waiting to see her father?

When she was younger, Erin had been desperate for his approval. Each time a new ability of hers was discovered, she would happily come to his office, waiting in this room patiently for him to have a spare moment to see her. The door would open, she would happily announce her latest power, hoping that this time, just maybe, he would be impressed. Each time, he would stare silently at her, measuring her worth. He would then ask what power level she had been judged to be. Upon hearing a 3 or a 4, he would immediately lose interest, dismissing her from his sight and breaking her heart all over again.

Erin glanced around at the office, the paintings of past generals on the walls seeming to stare back at her disapprovingly. With a long sigh, she sat down on one of the chairs, trying desperately not to think of the last time she had sat in this office.

She was eight years old. She had woken up with a familiar feeling, and excited, her mother had brought her before an insight specialist once again. They confirmed she had developed an eighth ability: illusion type powers. The people in the office had been so complimentary, so impressed with her abilities. A typical "talented" person may have 3 or 4 abilities; level 4 abilities were fairly rare. To have eight... they called Erin a genius, and she believed it must be true.

Excited, she raced to her father office. Sitting in the metal chair, swinging her legs back and forth, unable to contain her cheerful energy.

This time he'll be impressed. He has to be. She thought to herself.

Finally he came out, his frame filling the doorway. He was silent, but his dark eyes studied her closely, seeming to see her and through her at the same time. Nervous, trembling she got to her feet, and lifted a hand. An image of a flower projected above it, starting as a bud and blooming into a beautiful white lily. The illusion faded, and she stared at the floor, too nervous to look at his expression.

"Level?" A single word, but it carried so much meaning within.

"..." She didn't want to say.

"What level was it appraised at?" His voice carried weight with it, making her feel crushed.

"...Three." She whispered.

"Worthless." Losing interest, he turned back to his office.

Erin lost it. She had come to this office so many times, and never once had she earned his approval. Without thinking she stepped forward, raising her voice and arguing.

"So what if it's only level three? I have EIGHT different abilities. That has to match up to a measly level five ability, right? I mean, I really can..." Before she could finish the sentence she was thrown against the wall.

She couldn't move, couldn't breathe. The room was filled with his power, the air gone. Flames burst into existence all around her, the heat from the fire scorching her skin but otherwise not leaving a trace in the room around her. Blood dripped from her nose and ears, her eight year old body unable to withstand the pressure.

"Still think you can measure up to a level 5 capacitance?" Despite the ferocity of his attack, his voice remained calm, bored even. "I have the ability to topple nations, your measly little parlor tricks mean nothing."

With a quick hand gesture the flames, the wind, everything was gone. Her father smiled, the expression cruel. "Go back to your training. Don't bother me again unless you have something significant to report."

With that the door closed behind him, leaving her slumped on the floor, blood staining her clothes, sticking against her skin. It wasn't until an hour later that she finally crawled to her feet and left the office.

She never used her illusion ability again.

Erin shook her head, trying to clear it of the memory of that terrible day. She had just been a child, one who wanted her father to be proud of her. There was nothing to be ashamed of. She took a deep breath, steadying her thoughts, and kept her expression carefully neutral as she waited to be called into the office.

"You may enter now." Thirty minutes later the attendant stepped forward, looking at her with a disdainful expression.

Erin stood up, and entered the room, her spine straight and her chin raised. She wished she could believe she was ready for this.

The office was unchanged from years before. Still windowless, lit only by a magical lamp on the large mahogany desk. Papers strewn everywhere, taking up each and every available surface. A large table stood in the corner with a map on it, different markers placed at different areas of the world. There was no other chair, her father didn't believe that anyone should be so relaxed as to sit in his presence. Erin stood in front of the desk, waiting silently.

The man at the desk... her father. She knew in some ways his features resembled her own, but he was so much... bigger. Not just taller, although he towered over her when standing. His very presence filled the room, leaving no room for her. The silence was... suffocating. She waited there in front of the desk, focusing on breathing.

"You killed Lady Belanna?"

When he finally spoke, it caught her by surprise. He had not looked up from his work at his desk, his voice casual as if asking about the weather. She thought about his question for a moment, and then gave an answer from the official story they had given the school.

"It was in self defense."

He looked up, and Erin fought the desire to shrink back as his dark eyes focused on her. She felt like he was seeing through her, dissecting her down to her bones.

"But you DID kill her?"

Erin sighed. "Yes, but I would be dead if I didn't so I'm not sorry, even if she was a... special friend of yours."

"That's not the issue." He shook his head. "She had longed outlived her usefulness to me, her death matters very little."

Erin felt a slight pang for the madwoman who had made this monster the center of her world, only to have her death regarded as less than a minor inconvenience.

"If you don't care, why am I here?" She kept her voice calm, even as he stood up, leaning over her. His face came within inches of her own, making her itch to strike out, to hurt him.

"I care because she was once one of the stronger knights, with level 5 wind ability, and yet somehow... you... were able to kill her." He grabbed her arm, his grip so tight she felt it down to the bone. "HOW?"

Ah. Erin refused to let the pain on her arm show on her face. This breaks everything he ever taught me about never being able to defeat a level 5. She smiled at him, enjoying his disconcertment at the expression.

"She was already weakened, and I caught her by surprise, it was simple."

"..." He stared at her, and Erin returned his look calmly, despite everything within her screaming out to reach over and kill him.

Pull off the restrictive amulet.

Use all your abilities to take his life, tear him limb from limb.

Destroy him.

He'll never see it coming.

"Come with me." Releasing her arm, he motioned for her to follow him, and walked quickly out of the door. They moved through the military offices, into a practice yard in the back. There, standing attention in a military uniform was a tall young man about Erin's age. He glared at her, his eyes holding an unexpected amout of hatred for someone she had never met before. She chose to ignore him, staring at her father instead, who came to a stop in front of the gentleman just five feet away.

"At ease, Walter." The young man relaxed at her father's words.

"I know how you love to play games, and so I've arranged a good one for you. This girl here is from St. Julienne's academy, one of their representatives for the international competition." He paused, his cold gaze looking her over from head to toe one last time. "You may go all out... but I want her alive at the end."

Walter nodded, his face splitting into a wide grin, his eyes dissecting her in a way that made Erin want to shudder in disgust. She adjusted her stance to a defensive one, and circled around, trying to study him. Knowing there was no point discussing this further, as her father wanted to see a fight, so there would be a fight. She contemplated taking off the restrictive amulet, but reluctantly decided against it. Erin couldn't dare let her father know about the true extent of her abilities, she needed every advantage she could get.

She activated her physical and spiritual enhancement abilities, boosting her moving speed and the capacity of her elemental powers. All the while she kept an eye on the young man in front of her, who continued to stand in a relaxed manner, staring at her.

Then, within the space of half a breath, he was inches away from her.

"Level 4 physical enhancement and Wind abilities." Her father's tone was amused. "Let's see how you handle this."

Walter reached for her neck, but Erin had already dropped to the ground, sweeping his legs out fro under him. Unwilling to let go of the advantage, she kicked him in the face while he was down, breaking his nose with a crunching noise. It didn't seem to phase him at all, his smile continued to remain in place as he stared up at her, trying to stand. She went to kick him again, but her leg was caught in a lightning quick grasp. Trying to pull away, Erin was startled as he lifted her over his head, swinging her into a wall of a nearby office. She felt a couple ribs crack at the impact.

Erin lay on the ground, stunned for a moment. She then reached out, filling the field with red gold flames. They reached up to the level of her opponent's chest, but still he ignored them, marching through with determination until he was by her side again. Walter was burned, several part of his uniform smoldering despite their flame resistant nature, but still he kept smiling.

Unnerved, Erin tried to use wind magic to push him back, but only succeeded in moving him a few feet away. He rushed back to her side, grabbing her arm, and before she could react, stomped on it. Erin bit her tongue, holding back a scream as she felt the bone break under his boot.

She clenched a fist, and a stream of water rushed down his throat, flooding his lungs. He reached a hand into his mouth and pulled the water out with a gesture.

"He has Level 4 water abilities as well."

Climbing to her feet, she split the earth between them, trying to force some distance while firing a ball of flame at his face. He leapt over the gap, dodging the burning missile and grabbed her other arm.

Erin reached out with that arm, gripping his shirt to pull him closer, while bringing her knee into his stomach, but despite the heavy blow he only tightened his fist, using his other hand to rotate her body until with a popping sound, her shoulder dislocated.

Pale, barely conscious with the pain, Erin tried once more to attack him with magic. The flame had barely formed before his boot struck her face, knocking her to the ground. Her vision blurry, she looked up at the sky, dully waiting for the finishing blow.

"Enough."

She barely recognized her father's voice over the ringing in her ears. She lifted up her head, turning to the side to spit out blood. Her head hurt, her arms rendered unusable, each breath brought a stabbing pain as the fracture ribs scraped on each other. She was having trouble breathing, she worried it may have punctured the lung on that side. Walter stood only a few feet away, still smiling, looking her over with a stubborn expression. It was clear he hadn't wanted to stop.

"Leave now, treat your wounds." Her father was still talking to Walter. With a formal bow, the young man retreated, nothing in his gait revealing how badly he was hurt. Once they were alone, there were a few moments of silence.

"I see what you meant." His voice was cold. "It was indeed a stroke of luck that you were able to take down Lady Belanna. Although it is true that you have improved. Beyond the abilities you saw, Walter also has a variant of mental reinforcement." He grinned, the expression dark. "He can completely cut off pain sensation. He fights like a madman, most people don't survive the first attack. However, your meager abilities are far from enough to be considered useful to me."

Erin struggled to her feet, her arms hanging from her side. "Is that all?" She was proud at how calm her voice sounded.

"No." He frowned. "You are not useful as a soldier, but that doesn't mean I ignore your value to this family and my goals. Once you return from your loss at the international competition, you will leave your school and return home to prepare for your wedding."

"... no." Erin was shocked, giving only a single word answer.

"It wasn't a question. Your marriage has been arranged to a rising young official who I need on my side. This will cement relations between the two families and allow me to move more freely within the Parliament."

"I refuse."

"You have no choice."

Erin glared. "You cannot force me to agree to marry him, even if you physically force me to the altar."

"You have no idea how easily I can do exactly that." His smile was cruel. "I'm done with you for now. Go back to your school."

He turned away, walking back towards his office, leaving her staring at his back, thoughts about killing him screaming in her mind. Suppressing the idea with a shudder, Erin slowly made her way back out of the offices, ignoring the blood dripping on the floor beneath her feet.

She sent a wind artifact to Gerald, asking him to meet her, but she kept walking. She was worried if she stopped, she would fall asleep. Her vision was darkening, her limbs felt heavy, but still she kept moving.

Just a little further... Just...

"Erin!" Gerald's horrified shout caused her head to snap up. She tripped, falling towards the ground. His arms abruptly halted her descent as he pulled her against his chest. Erin let out a groan of pain as it jostled her ribs and arms.

"Erin, what...? What did he do?" He barely whispered, but Erin heard him, she smiled, the expression distorted by the swelling in her face.

"My father just wanted to let me know I'm engaged, isn't it wonderful?"

With that, she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Erin? ... ERIN?!"