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Araya Lucaris (Elora Krisara x AndrewS)

When Kelaria spoke to Regis about torture, he could tell that she wasn't lying. He had been subjected to some of Balthier and Alzahar's methods already. His body was beaten and violated, his will broken, he could only imagine what the demons would do to Kelaria to get out of her what they wanted. But something didn't sit right...Kelaria was supposed to be the strongest of her bloodline, she was supposed to be filled with light. The woman sitting across from him was anything but that. He could sense nothing from her anymore. Had it been snuffed out? Or, perhaps, she was lying to a tired old man to earn pity?

"Where's your light?" He asked her, changing his tune when she speaks up about Vander, confirming that by some miracle, not only did she know him, but she knew that he was still alive. "He's alive?"

The hope Regis felt showed through in his voice, defeating the tiredness that he had been speaking with for a brief moment before exhaustion settled back in, dulling the man's excitement over the good news she had shared.

"Vander Albright...was like a son to me. Him, and his brother..." Regis began, explaining his relationship to the Albright brothers. "I practically helped raise them...and I warned them all that nothing good would come from involving themselves with the dark arcane..."

Regis remembered the many warning she had given. As a scholar, he had spent almost the entirety of his life dedicated to research, and to the Araya Lucaris. Even he knew very little of it, even after his extensive work to document and learn of it, but what he knew without doubt was the dangers that it posed.

"To meddle with the dark arcane is to risk corruption of the soul itself." He told them. Nobody seemed to listen. "If a time should come when the seed of evil has been sewn so deeply inside of you that you cannot be saved, it is my duty as your appointed retainer to free you from your burden. This I promise you."

But Regis could not keep that promise. Balthier became too powerful, too quickly, and turned a blind ear to every word and warning the scholar gave to him.

"I was there for it all...the invasion, the death of your parents, the corruption of the people I held dear...I failed them, Kelaria..." Regis began to quietly sob, to himself, divided from her so far that she couldn't comfort him even if she had the strength and emotional bandwidth inside of her to use in the first place. "I begged Balthier to spare his life...I was so tired of burying the people that I loved..."

Regis tried to stop himself, but it was difficult. He had hit a breaking point, and this was the first person he was allowed to speak with, who wasn't Balthier, since the day that the castle was stormed and her parents were murdered. "...you cannot stay here. You must find your light and you must leave...Princess Kelaria Etherborn, Arellia's Last Light..." He spoke of her with reverence, even though he wasn't from her kingdom. He knew not what she had done to get here, the pain she had felt and the people she had failed, he simply saw her as royalty, and treated her as such. He had been dedicated to a life of doing so for the Albrights, after all. "Do not allow those demons to cage you the way they have caged me. Find your light, and find Vander, keep him safe and save your people...the man who sits upon your throne is no longer family to me."

He sobbed once more upon saying that out loud. "Pardon my poor manners...my name is Regis Fairwind, a scholar from Astellia. It is a...great honor to meet you properly, Princess Etherborn...forgive me for my weakness. I have endured more than my frail body could take..."
 
"Where's your light?" the words tore an even bigger hole in the already torn open princess. Where indeed. Kelaria dropped her gaze. "It's gone...I've failed. There's no more light. It wasn't doing anyone any good anyway." there was a bitterness in the princess's frail voice. She clearly didn't think very highly of herself anymore, maybe she never really had. She could only imagine what she looked like to this man. Her faced bruised and cut, eyes dull and grey, skin pale and sickly, and with hair that was dull and in some places colorless completely. She hardly looked like a princess, much less like the beautiful princess full of magic and light that Regis would have heard about.

"He mentioned you once...but didn't really speak of you beyond then. He never mentioned your name...I think he felt ashamed for his actions, like he failed you." She looked up at Regis, her own eyes watered but no tears spilled over. "Vander...Vander has grown to mean a great deal to me...I think- I think you'd be proud to see what he has become. I think you'd be proud of the efforts he's taken to right his wrongs. He is a good man, even if he doesn't always believe it. You should be proud of the role you took in raising him." Kelaria's voice betrayed the affection she held for Vander.

Kelaria sat helplessly as she watched the man in the cell next to her fall apart. She wished she could find a way to soothe his tears and bring him comfort. She understood a great deal of his pain. Instead she simply watched, unsure of how to help anyone anymore.

Kelaria's mood shifted at the way Regis spoke to her. The reverence in his voice made her sick.

"Princess Kelaria Etherborn, Arellia's Last Light..."

"My light is gone. I don't think it's ever coming back. It's gone. I failed. I failed time and time again. My people needed me. They needed me to save them...to protect them....They needed hope and I couldn't even give them that. I've lead to the death of more than I've helped." Her tone was bitter and angry. Worse than that, her tone was filled with absolute self loathing. She thought of the family upstairs in the throne room, of the man she had murdered, of the villiagers that had fled for their lives because of her. She thought of the pain Vander had endured trying to save her from Balthier's clutches. She thought of Alexandra's face when Balthier announced his plans to punish her family because she tried to save Kelaria.

"You haven't saved anybody." Alzahar's voice echoed in her mind.

Her own eyes were filled with tears that finally spilled over. "I cannot even heal you. It's the one thing I'm good at and I can't even heal you when you so desperately need it." She looked down at her hands as tears slid down her face.
 
"Do not worry about my condition. I have lived a long life, time would have caught up with me eventually all on it's own." He reassured her, pulling himself as close to her as he could. Though they were still separated by the bars, he was close enough now that Kelaria's eyes could discern some of his features despite the darkness of the dungeon. Lines were drawn across his face, a shaggy, white beard that had seen better days, marred by dirt and blood. There was little about Regis that looked healthy, from the desecration of his body through torture to the way he struggled to draw breath. His condition was far beyond 'time', but he didn't wish to admit it or draw sympathy from someone who was clearly upset on her own.

Her passionate denial of what he had said, through bitter anger, was not lost on Regis, who had sensed the shame and hurt in her voice before she even approached the subject matter properly. She had been through a great deal of suffering, they both had, but who was he to put his pain above her own?

"I am...glad to hear you say those things about Vander, but not so much what you've said about yourself." He replied to her in earnest, proud of Vander's growth, but troubled by Kelaria's recession. "Why are you to blame for the actions of Balthier?"

His question was simple, and not from shortsightedness. He was an astute man who had made his living off of observations and research, the guilt eating Kelaria's heart was plain to see and not entirely warranted. "The darkness that has stolen your kingdom's light is a result of those demons, not you. You have done what you can, you cannot save everybody...but you must save yourself. As long as you are still here, you are standing between them and what they want...there's still hope, but not if you lose it in this dungeon. Are you going to lay down and admit defeat? Let the darkness steal your light...doom everybody still breathing to a life of subjugation and pain?" His words were wise and meant to invoke introspection. "...especially when you are still alive and well and capable of making a difference. You may have failed, but you are not a failure."

"You may have failed, but you are not a failure."

"If Vander can change and come back from the brink, so too can you. But Princess Kelaria, you are not their prisoner, this is your home. There is nobody alive who knows the walls of this castle better than you. Not I, nor Balthier, nor his demon, only you. You must fight this. Do not let your guilt and pain silence your heart."
 
Now that she could see him more clearly, Kelaria's suspiciouns were confirmed. It was obvious that it was not time that was Regis' undoing. He wasn't young but that was not the reason for his condition. He had suffered far worse than the torment Balthier had put her through already. He was an example of what would become of her if she didn't give up her secrets or escape before they had the chance to do worse than they had already.

"I cannot save anybody it seems. I have only doomed so many of my people, signed their death warrants simply with my existence. I may have brought my people hope but it's that hope that is killing them. They are losing their faith in me and rightfully so. I am no savior, no beacon of hope. I do not work miracles. I cannot save anyone. My light was and has always been a joke. Years of isolation, torment, and exhaustion to perfect my abilities only to have them fail me at every turn."

Kelaria couldn't look at him as she continued. "You speak of the pain of the downfall of those you love...I love my people and I have done nothing but destroy them. I loved my parents and I have proven to be only a disappointment to them. I love-" She stopped herself. "I care for Vander and have let him down and made him suffer for my sake."

"Do not think heroically of me Regis Fairwind. I am no hero. My light wasn't stolen from me. I killed it. I put it out. I doomed myself. They were using it to hurt me. It was killing me so I extinguished it. I don't even know that I can ever get it back. My mother always told me that someday my light would save my kingdom. It appears she was very very wrong. I suppose even the best prophetess has to be wrong from time to time." Kelaira spoke about herself with such vial disgust.

"I haven't given up, not entirely anyway. I plan to escape. I may have failed my people but maybe Vander can accomplish what I cannot." She had long since given up on herself, but she couldn't give up on her people. She shivered still, a bit more violently now that the cold of the dungeon was starting to eat at her. Her light no longer warmed her, and her body didn't know how to warm itself. Such a big part of her was gone now.

"Did you know, my great great grandfather was captured in this castle, his own castle? A very powerful group of raiders overtook his guards during a holiday feast. They threw him here in the dungeons while they pilliaged the castle. They wanted to make a show of his exicution so they spared him for the evening. Luckily the raiders were driven off before dawn and he was spared. He decided he couldn't allow himself to be imprisoned in his own home again. He had a whole system of secret escapeways built into the castle, all activated by Etherborn blood. His wife was a blood mage. She used her abilites to heal and to help her people. He begged her to enchant the passageways to be hidden away and activated only by their bloodline. Most people wouldn't be able to find the entry points even if they knew what they were looking for..." Kelaria's voice grew weaker and weaker as she recounted the story. What little strength she had in her was failing her. There wasn't much more her body could take.

She turned her attention back to the man. "How can I help you? I can't heal you but there must be something I can do. I cannot leave you here to continue your suffering."
 
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Regis allowed Kelaria the time she needed to grieve openly, expressing her pain and her frustrations, despite not believing that she warranted as much of the blame as she placed upon herself. The world had been cruel to Kelaria, but none of that was her fault. It was unfair that she had to suffer so much, or feel as though her light was a burden, or that she had played a hand in the fall of her kingdom.

He was glad to hear that she wasn't going to roll over and die, she was going to try, even if it put her into her grave. She seemed to know the way out without even recognizing it, recounting stories of her great grandfather and the knowledge only she would have of these castle walls. "Use that to your advantage. You are holding a great secret from Balthier Albright, now, use the secrets kept by your great grandfather to get yourself to safety. And do not worry of me. While it is sweet that you are concerned, I am not yours to save, nor do I expect it from you. If you wish to help me, you will leave this place and you will find your light once more."

"My dear Princess..." Regis began, again, his tired voice still seeped in kindness, an emotion she didn't seem to share very freely with herself. "You are a victim of your fate. You have been forced into a role you feel inadequate to play because in reality, you are the only one strong enough to fulfill it. Disagree with me if you will, and perhaps you are not a hero, but you were never born to be a hero..." He trailed off, for a brief moment, gathering himself. "...you were born to be a queen."

Regis wasn't wrong. With her mother gone, the true heir to the throne was Kelaria, and Kelaria alone. Balthier had usurped it, but it rightfully belonged to her. Not as a princess, not anymore, but as it's rightful leader. A responsibility somehow heavier than her guilt, yet her destiny all the same. "So be their queen. Lead. Conquer. Be everything your mother was, and then...become more."
 
Had she not already been crying; Regis' words would have her in tears. She was unprepared for the wave of emotions that overwhelmed her as he spoke. It was like speaking to her father again but with far more wisdom in his words. "Perhaps you are not a hero, but you were never born to be a hero...you were born to be a queen." Kelaria may not fully believe it yet but there was a power behind his words. At the moment Kelaria didn't feel much like a queen and she felt even less worthy of the role or title. A queen helps her people and Kelaria was only failing them. Kelaria let tears pour down her face as she sat in silence and faced his words for a moment. A queen steps up for her people when they have no one else. That she could do. She may have failed to defend them, and she may not feel worthy of the title but right now she was the only one able to take it. Until she found someone who could and deserved to, she would have to do. Kelaria had tried so hard to be what her kingdom needed, and she would have to simply keep trying until she could find the queen her people deserved.

The part Kelaria left unsaid, too overwhelmed with emotion to argue with the dying man; she knew she'd never be the queen her mother was. She had already failed her people too much for that.

Kelaria wiped at her eyes and shifted to her hands and knees and began brushing her hands across the ground in search of something. "I'm not leaving you here." she patted around until she found what she was looking for. "Regis, can you move enough to check the far corner of your cell? It may be under the bedroll or likely against the wall. There should be a stone in the ground that feels colder to the touch than the rest. It will be subtle. There will be a small dent in exactly the center of it. Tell me if it's there."
 
Regis could see his words had inspired at least some sort of reaction from Kelaria that wasn't self loathing and sadness, and for that, he was glad to have had an effect. He still thought she was stubborn, however, about insisting he escape. Still, he listened to her instructions, finding exactly what she was speaking of. "Ah..yes. It's there." He called out to her, pressing down against the dent in the stone.

"But Princess, you must know that somebody as feeble as me would only slow you down...and endanger your escape." He reasoned, one last time, not wanting to be the reason she got herself captured again, or even worse... "Besides, there's no place for me to go. My home is not the same, my family is not my family...There is no place in the twin kingdoms for a sorry, old soul such as myself."

~~~

"...that's the best you've come up with?"

"I don't see you coming up with any better plan."

"I'm still in shock that this is what you want us to go with. I haven't had a chance to think yet."

Their back and forth surrounded what Vander believed was the best course of action for their attempted siege on the Arellian Castle.

"Van, I know you're worried about her, and you want to save her at all costs, but this...this is suicide. What good are you to Kelaria if your life is the forfeit for her rescue?"

Vander seemed undeterred by the thought, his martyr-like tendencies frustrating Alexandra to no end.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me. What's important is that you get her out of there. She has to live long enough to get to the Araya Lucaris."

"Without you?" She asked, sighing. "She would never allow it, and deep down, you know that. I can see it in the way that she looks at you, Van...in how her voice speaks your name. Princess Kelaria will have no part in her childhood home becoming your grave."

"...what would you have me do, Alex? Not try?"

Alexandra reached up to take Van's hands, hesitating, before eventually deciding against making physical contact. "I'm not saying we don't try...I'm saying that we find a better way to try."

"You're free to find whatever way you want. I know what I'm going to do, and what must be done. Whether you come with me or not is none of my concern."

"Vander Albright." Full name. He was in trouble. "You're an asshole, do you know that? Why don't you ever think about how much your actions hurt other people? Or the things that you say? Or how eager you are to throw yourself onto the first blade willing to catch you? Where do you get off assuming that just because you do something so...so foolish, suddenly you're going to be forgiven for the wrongs you've made by...by running away! That's what you're doing. You're running away, like a coward!"

"How? I'm about to teleport into the castle to face my brother. That is the opposite of running aw-"

"You're so stupid. Hopelessly, irreversibly stupid." Alexandra cut him off, not letting him finish his sentence. "You're running away from what you've done by ending your life. And you're a coward for that, for leaving us to pick up the pieces." Us. She meant her, and Kelaria. "Live long enough to fix your own damn problems! It's your responsibility to repair what you've broken. You don't get to let yourself off the hook easy and think yourself a hero in the process."

By now, Alexandra was quite heated and emotional, her arms swinging as she spoke, animated in frustration. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes, but she promised herself she would not let Vander Albright make her cry again...which is exactly why she couldn't stand to lose him now.

"...Alex...?"

"Yeah...?"

"Are you coming with me, or not?"

"You're unb-..." She scowled, underneath her breath. Her sad gaze fell upon him as he awaited her answer, looking as serious as he had been before she had opened her mouth. It was like nothing reached him besides his own desire to self-sacrifice. "...of course I'm going with you, idiot."

"Good." He said, simply, reaching out his hand for her to take it, preparing to teleport and begin what was, by all intents and purposes, a mission punched with a one-way ticket. "Then let's get started."

Alexandra took his hand, allowing herself to hold it this time. Despite her solid stance on showing her emotion, a tear trickled from the corner of her eye as Vander's magic swirled around them, beginning a teleportation.
 
"Regis, I myself can hardly move. No matter how I escape, alone or with you, I will have to take it slow. I am not leaving you here. I am not leaving one more person to suffer when I have the power to do something about it. I am not leaving another person to die. If that's my duty, then I don't want it. I can't and I won't leave you behind." There was a determination set in her voice. Saving him was as much for her as it was for him. She couldn't have his death or his suffering on her conscious when she knew that she didn't even try. She needed to save him even if it was just to prove to herself that she was still capable of some good. "You have Vander. He is your family. You'll find he's very likely much like the man you remember him being, the man you raised him to be. We are going to get out of here and we are going to find him together."

In her hand Kelaria held a sharp fragment of what felt like a broken bit of stone she had found on the ground. She didn't stop to worry about how dirty it was. She brought it to her palm but realized she'd need more blood than her palm would give her. Instead, she brought the shard to her arm and used it to crudely cut into her own skin. Kelaria let out a small hiss at the pain and dropped the stone once she was sufficiently bleeding. She shuffled to the other side of her own cell and let her blood collect into a similar stone to the one Regis found in his own cell. The ground trembled slightly and the sound of stone shifting on stone could be heard in Regis' cell. It was surprisingly quiet for an exit that likely hadn't been used in decades.

Kelaria braced herself as a chill filled the already cold room. Her shivers became more violent. Moving more quickly now, she ripped off the sleeve of her dress. Due to her current weakness, it was a struggle but luckily the dress was well worn and weakened as well. She pressed the sleeve against her bleeding arm to let the blood soak in. She dragged herself back over to the bars and passed the bloodied sleeve through to Regis. "Put this in that dent and let's both pray it will be enough to trigger the spell."
 
"Fascinating..." Regis whispered, beneath his breath, hearing the way the stone beneath them reacted, but also finding it impressive not just how quiet it was, but how it had been built to begin with. It was so discrete that it was no surprise that Balthier, had he even really taken the time to truly investigate the basement, had missed it's existence. "You were telling the truth about blood magic...I've never seen such a thing with my own eyes."

His shaking hand reached between the bars to retrieve the fabric, pulling it back through, to his side. It pained him to get into a position where he could more easily reach his target, pressing the blood-soaked rag where he was directed, causing the floor beneath him to shake and react the same way her side had.

"Do you know where this will lead us...?" He asked her, curiously, trying to hand the sleeve back to her, as politely as he could, as though she still needed it.

~~~

Two guards fell to meet the stone floor, unconscious, with Vander and Alexandra standing above their fallen forms. "Thank you...these men are not afflicted by the demon. They are pawns..."

"I'm only here for my brother. Nobody else has to die."

Alexandra nodded, glad that Vander was at least still seeing clearly enough that he didn't want to kill any of the other innocent soldiers who were being forced to perform their duties under Balthier and Alzhara. The two guards in question would certainly feel it when they woke up, but they'd recover with no real injuries, and no worse for ware afterwards. "Where are we, anyways?"

"Lower level. I didn't think teleporting us straight into the throne room would be the brightest idea..."

"A change of heart on your irrational plan?"

"No. If I know my brother, he used the throne room to scar Kelaria, then tossed her some place else..."

"Like the dungeon?"

"There's a dungeon here?"

"Yeah. It had a bunch of old holding cells...I, I think it's where your brother sent Regis."

"Is he...alive?"

"I have no idea. He was last I saw him, but that was nearly a week ago, no. Absolutely not. Vander."

Vander was already looking around for a staircase leading downwards. Alex realized what she had done the moment she opened her mouth. She had just turned this into a rescue mission for two, not one. "Van, we do not have the time, nor the resources, to break Regis out too, if he's even still ali-"

"He's alive."

"Van...you don't know that for su-"

"He's alive. And so is she." Vander cut her off, again. "And you're bringing both of them to safety."
 
"Queen Alyaan Etherborn was an incredibly gifted mage. There are few recorded blood mages of any renown, and she was skilled enough to master the art." While there was admiration in Kelaria's voice there was also a strain there. Growing up many, especially her mother, had commented that Kelaria's gift had outmatched all of her bloodline, even Queen Alyaan. Kelaria found the idea laughable now and just thought of it as a cruel joke and a mockery of her great great grandmother. Kelaria took the offered sleeve. Ordinarily she would have left it behind but didn't want to risk Balthier somehow finding a way to use it. She knew the blood wouldn't remain fresh enough to use for long, but she was paranoid enough to not want to risk it. Instead, she tucked the soiled rag in her pocket. Her dress was already filthy, it made little difference.

"I've been through one of the other entrances. There is one in my old training room. My mother taught me to open the trigger points and my father took me on a tour of them. I have a fairly good idea of where we are going but I've never entered from the dungeon. Give me a moment." Kelaria mustered what strength she could to make herself stand. She was only able to take a few stumbling steps before she fell and caught herself against the wall. This was going to take a while. Kelaria hated feeling this weak but Balthier's attacks against her after already expending so much of herself in the forest had taken too much out of her. Having her magic suffocated the way it had left her nearly empty.

The only thing that kept her moving was her determination to return Regis to Vander. She had to get Regis out safely and she had to tell Vander how to find the Araya Lucaris. Powered only by that determination, Kelaria stood again and forced herself onward. She moved through the doorway into a dark and cold passageway. As she stepped in and some of her blood dripped from her arm, the passageway lit up with a soft green glow. It was subtle but just enough to allow her to see. She slipped into the next opening into Regis' cell. "Come, take my hand." she offered her hand and heaved him up against her when he took it. She pulled him so that his arm was able to drape across her shoulder. She was quite a bit smaller than him, so the angle was awkward, but she was able to put most of his weight on her. "Lean on me as much as you need. If you can move your feet, I can shoulder your weight."
 
It was still dark enough that Regis couldn't get a good look at Kelaria, but he could see her shadow stumble and struggle to stand on her own feet. He took the same, slow, labored approach to moving as well as she guided him out of his cell and into the hallway that divided the room. He leaned against her, but he felt awful doing so, knowing that she was in no shape to support his weight, especially with the difference in size. "Let us lean on each other. You are not strong enough to do this on your own." He warned her, proposing a compromise instead.

Each step ached Fairwind's aged bones. This had been the first opportunity he had to stand and walk in some time, it was like his body was resisting it. As they pushed through the hidden passageway, they neared an exit and light finally began to filter down a staircase, they were both able to see each other clearly for the first time.

Regis looked like he had been plunged into the pits of hell itself, but he was even more mortified by the sight that awaited him. Kelaria looked pale, her eyes dull, her hair without color or shimmer, like the life had been drained out of her the moment her light had gone dormant. She was no longer the beautiful Princess he had heard so much about, she looked to be a shell of herself, pained and broken, and it caused the scholar's lips to curl into a frown of disapproval. "Princess..." He began, but he didn't know what to say that she didn't already know, and he didn't wash to accidentally be rude to somebody who was going at great lengths to bring him to safety. He attempted to force a smile, but struggled to do so.

"...thank you."

~~~

"Do you not know your way?"

"I've spent very little time here, Van. I know the upper levels, but not the lower."

"Luckily, we need to be in the lower levels. That's where the dungeon is?"

"Yeah..."

"So, we search for a staircase, or something leading us deeper."

Alexandra nodded her head as they both peered around a pillar, using it to conceal themselves. As of now, they had only encountered the two guards they had already taken care of, but they both knew there would be more, and that was if they were lucky enough not to run into Balthier himself, though Alexandra had her doubts that he would be anywhere near this part of the castle unless alerted to their presence. At that point, finding a staircase would be the least of their worries.

"Hey, Van?" She spoke up, mid-way down a hall, stopping in front of a large, ornate statue. "Something feel off about this to you?"

Vander got a closer look. He could feel it too. There was some sort of magic at play here, but it was a magic he hadn't seen before. It wasn't dark, nor light, and it was different from Alexandra's as well. "Some sort of spell?"

"Seems that way..."

"Isn't it strange that Balthier wouldn't have figured this out by now? He should be more in tune with magic than we are..."

"Yeah, but I doubt he's even been down here. Do you think it's some sort of hidden passageway?"

"Maybe." Vander tried to tug at the statue, but it didn't move. He searched it for any hidden switches, or something that could be activated by magic, but he seemed to be stumped. "I've got nothing. Maybe we should just move on? We don't have time to waste here." Vander's eyes shifted from one end of the hallway to the other, making certain guards weren't coming to catch them there.

"Yeah, maybe..." She sighed, but she did not move, even as Vander started to walk back down the hallway. "...I hear voices."

"Voices?" Vander asked, doubling back towards her.

"Yeah, on the other side. It's faint...but definitely there..."

~~~

At the top of the staircase Regis and Kelaria were climbing was a wall, an apparent dead end. Regis knew, however, now that there were things in this castle that were meant to be hidden, and that Kelaria could uncover them. "Is this another blood magic trick?" He asked her, slowing down. He pulled himself away from her and leaned against the wall for support instead, freeing Kelaria to do what she needed to do to open the way forward.
 
Each stumbled step the pair took sent a jolt of pain through Kelaria. It wasn't just a physical pain caused by her weakness and this new rawness in the world, there was an emotional pain. It was obvious to Kelaria how much Regis was struggling and she wanted nothing more than to heal the man. He needed it and she should have been able to provide it for him. What use was she if she couldn't help someone so desperately in need of her help.

As light began to filter into the passageway Kelaria took in Regis' battered form. Seeing him like this made that pain and frustration worse. She couldn't help him the way she should. She watched the exact moment his lip curled into a frown as his eyes scanned over her. Though she had yet to see her own reflection, she had a pretty good idea of what he was seeing.

"Princess..."

Kelaria turned away in mortified humiliation. She didn't deserve that title. The woman struggling to stand before him was not Arellia's princess. "Don't thank me yet. We aren't free yet. There is still plenty of chance for failure." There was still a chance they could be discovered, and she would have only shortened his life that much more and brought more pain and suffering onto herself. She readjusted Regis' weight against her and begun the slow and painful climb up the stairs, neither one of them in the shape to do so.

By the time they reached the top of the stairs Kelaria was on the verge of collapse. There were dark spots in her vision as her body begged for rest. It took only looking at the beaten man beside her to keep herself pushing despite her body's protests. She had to get him to Vander. She had to take him to Alexandra so he could be healed, so she could do what Kelaria could not.

Kelaria was breathing hard as she moved towards the apparent dead end. "It's no dead end...I simply have to remember how to open it." there was a frustrated edge to Kelaria's voice. She tried to delve into her memory to find this particular lesson but unfortunately her mother taught her this particular lesson around the same time her other lessons began, and the latter overpowered most other memories at the time. She patted at the wall as if looking for something. "Damn it! I can't remember." she complained in hushed frustration.

Kelaria took a breath and tried to bring herself back but instead of thinking of the lesson with her mother she tried to recall her trip through these tunnels with her father weeks afterwards. Her father wasn't an Etherborn by blood, only in marriage. He had been unable to activate the blood magic seals. With her eyes squeezed shut, Kelaria focused on that much warmer memory. It had been like an adventure with her father. She was sixteen at the time and nearly a woman but there had been a childlike wonder that day.

One hand moved silently, as if on its own, to dip into the blood on her arm. Slowly that hand glided across the surface of the wall, tracing designs that made little sense to Kelaria onto the wall with her blood. The designs had a faint purple glow to them. They were mere echos of Kelaria's lost light. With her eyes shut she did not even see them before the glow faded. After a while the stone began to shift and open. Kelaria took a step back and opened her eyes. She helped Regis lean against her again. "We will have to do our best to be quick. This will take us into the lower-level halls until I can get us to another passage opening." it was obvious the Princess wasn't going to be conscious for long and she wanted to move quickly to get as far as they could before that happened.
 
The statue began to move. Alexandra watched on in curiosity as the stone behind it shifted, opening up the passage. Vander stepped in front of her, as if to shield her from whatever was on the other side, expecting a demon, or worse, his brother, to be somehow waiting for them. When the stones finished separating, a chill breached from the dark, cold hallway, filtering outwards around the statue which concealed two figures in the dark, shambling towards the light, slowly.

First, Vander saw Regis. Then, Kelaria.

"V-Vander...?"

Vander was already in motion towards them, arriving just in time to stop Regis from falling forward onto his face, supporting his mentor's weight with his own chest. Alexandra came to his side as well, to help Vander, taking Regis' weight off of him so that he could check on Kelaria next. She looked like a completely different person, devoid of color, of her light. He drew her into his arms, instantly, not wanting her to stumble and fall the way Regis had. "You-you're safe..." He whispered, surprised that she was even here. Was this some sort of trick? Or had she figured out a way to escape without needing them? He should have expected as much of her, she was too clever to be caged by his brother. "You're both safe..."

Vander would have felt a smile tug on his lips had the condition of both prisoners not been so dire. "I've got you. Hey. Look at me." He continued to speak to Kelaria, talking so that she wouldn't pass out, keeping her mind active by trying to follow his voice.

"Let me help you." Alex told Regis, lifting her hand against his rib cage. Her magic sent blue streams of energy through his body, healing him of his wounds as best as she could, to ease some of his pain.

"T-thank you. But, the Princess, she..." Regis turned his head to look at Kelaria, prepared to send Alexandra her way, only to see the two of them wrapped up in each other like some intimate moment had occurred that neither he, nor Alexandra, should have been able to witness. There was a tenderness in the way he held her, in how his voice softened to speak to her with care, hiding how happy he was to see that she was alive and that they were back together again after the absence forced upon them by his brother. Regis was beginning to understand now why Kelaria seemed to think so highly of Vander, there was more there than a need for alliance between two heirs of stolen thrones. Tears began to form at the corner of the scholar's eyes as for the first time since the Albrights had taken Arellia Castle, he felt hope for something more.

Maybe there was a way out of this that didn't involve Vander giving up his life after all.

"She'll be fine." Alexandra nodded, sighing sadly herself as she looked upon the two. "Hey...we should keep moving. Can she still walk?"

"I'll carry her if she cannot. We have to get out before my brother finds out. Let me teleport us."

"There's four of us now, I don't know if we can risk it, Van..."

"We can't exactly just walk out, either."

"The Princess knows of hidden paths throughout the castle. She can find us a way out safely. It is truly nice to see you again, Vander...I feared I may have lost you."

"I'm not that easy to get rid of."

Regis laughed, though he still whined in pain afterwards, the healing enough to cure his surface wounds, but ineffective to combat against the effects of old age. "Neither is she. You've met your match, finally."

Vander looked down at the girl still cradled in his arms, then back towards Regis with a slight nod of his head. "Maybe I have."

"We need to go." Alexandra interrupted, not wanting to hear anymore of this, her own heart aching as she founder herself, again, on the outside of Vander's affections.

"Right...Kel...can you lead the way?"
 
When two figures stood right outside the passageway Kelaria feared it was all over. She had failed again anyway. She hadn't saved Regis or herself after all, just brought their doom that much earlier. The light that poured in from the hallway had Kelaria squinting and was nearly painful on her eyes. It was a problem she had never had before now. It took a moment before she could make out the figures before her. Their identities dawned on Kelaria about the same time Regis said his name.

Vander and Alexandra. They were here.

Kelaria's initial reaction was relief. She had done it; she had gotten Regis to Vander. Alexandra could heal him and there was someone capable of defending them if something went wrong. Kelaria didn't like the thought of needing to be defended but she wasn't foolish enough to believe she was in any position to fight. She had somehow managed to save herself, proving she wasn't completely useless. Suddenly things felt a lot less dire than they had moments ago. Her second reaction was comfort. She found it very hard not to be comforted by Vander's presence. Somehow, he was quickly becoming home for her...especially with her own home being ruined the way it was. He was home and he was safety. That realization would have startled her if they had been in any other situation. The final and most powerful reaction was shame. She had expected to feel ashamed when reunited with the two of them, but she hadn't expected it to be this powerful.

It pained her to have Vander see her like this. So weak and devoid of light. Robbed of the only thing that made her special, even though it had been her own doing. What would he think of her now? Had it not been her light that drew him in in the first place? It pained her to have Alexandra, a powerful warrior and magic user, see her in such a pathetic state.

With Regis' weight no longer on her, Kelaria nearly collapsed but found herself already in Vander's arms and supported. She was grateful that Alexandra was already moving to heal Regis without her having to ask. She knew Regis would argue on her behalf, but healing Kelaria would be a mostly wasted effort. Most of her wounds were not physical in the traditional sense. Vander's voice pulled her attention back to him and away from the edge of unconsciousness. Her body was so cold and his arms around her felt so warm in comparison. Tears formed in the corners of Kelaria's dull eyes. Her shame was obvious in her gaze but also her relief. There was so much she wanted to say and even more she needed to say but all she could settle on was, "You're here." in a soft voice.

Barely clinging to consciousness, Kelaria missed some of the words that transpired between Regis and Vander, pulled back into the conversation again when Vander spoke to her again. She lifted her gaze back to him again. "R-right." She mustered what strength she could in order to straighten herself and attempted to pull herself out of Vander's arms. It was a feeble attempt to prove she could stand on her own. She didn't want to impose herself upon him any longer than necessary. "There should be another opening towards the lower library entrance. It's mostly just storage so I doubt your brother has spent much time down there. It's just down the hall to the left." she looked around, fully taking in her surroundings. "No- the right."
 
Vander tried to keep her within his grasp, even as she pulled away to stand on her own, worried that she might collapse at any moment. "Be careful..." He warned her as she looked around the hallway, attempting to discern where they were and how they could get out.

"Vander..."

"Yes, old friend?"

Vander leaned a little closer to Regis when he beckoned him near, keeping his eyes on Kelaria the entire time, ready to act on a moment's notice if she saw her begin to falter or stumble. "This looks good on you, you know."

"What does?" He responded, questioningly.

"How much you care for her. You're becoming more like your father."

That should have been a compliment, but it only rang empty. "My father is dead. I'm not sure that he's somebody I should strive to be like right now."

"Your father's death was a tragedy that robbed the world of a truly remarkable man. To be spoken of in the same breath as him is an honor, even in death...you are nothing like the monster your brother has become. I failed him, and I thought that I failed you..."

"You didn't." Vander shook his head, reassuring Regis. "You saved me. Balthier would have killed me if not for you."

"And Princess Kelaria saved me because of you. Consider us even."

"Even." He nodded. "I appreciate that you see me in the same light as my father, even if I don't believe it's warranted...but to be like him is not enough. I..."

"Wanted to become better?" He asked, echoing the sentiment he had given to Kelaria when faced with the responsibility that had been pushed onto her shoulders.

"Something like that."

"There's still time for that. If I know you, you probably believe the only way this ends is with you joining your father in whatever comes next...but you have a nation to lead. The Astellian throne belongs to you and you alone, you need only take it."

"...I don't want to be King. I want to make things right."

"I do not see a future where the two need to be exclusive."

"Hey, Van?" Alexandra chimed, having been walking with Kelaria the entire time. She said nothing to the Princess, simply keeping close in case she was needed, feeling it too awkward now between them to try and pretend to have idle conversation, especially given her physical state. "Do you remember when we were younger? You came to me one night after curfew, you told me about how your father had a talk with you and your brother. He lectured you about responsibility and how, one day, the two of you would inherit their kingdom."

"What about it?"

"Do you remember what you asked me that night?"

Vander could recall their conversation rather plainly, but he wasn't sure where she was going with this. He also wasn't keen on them bringing up a memory from their relationship prior with Kelaria still within ear shot.

"...if you could see me as a king?"

"Mhmm." She nodded. "Do you remember my answer?"

"You said that I was as close to being a king as the ocean was to the sky."

Alexandra laughed, nodding again. "It was a poetic way of saying that there wasn't a royal bone in your body, no matter how hard your father wanted you to fit that mold. You wanted to fight. You were more comfortable with a sword in your hand than you'd ever be in a meeting room, or navigating politics the way my parents did."

"What's your point, Alex?"

"You were everything to me back then...I was afraid that if you decided to pursue that purpose, you would no longer have a need for me, and that we would be more divided than ever before by your royalty. You were still a prince, after all, whether you wanted to act as one or not."

"But the man he has become is one more befitting of a crown."

"Yeah...and now, you have Kelaria as well." Alexandra hated admitting that. It stung more than any wound from any battlefield. "I'm just saying that if the two of you can make it out of this...well, you can both figure out how to rule together. You could bring peace back to the twin kingdoms...and you wouldn't have to worry about social standards dividing you from the person you want to be with."

"Alex..."

"No, it's alright. I see it now. You were never meant to be a soldier, Van, you were meant to be a king. It can only be you, just as it can only be Kelaria who saves her people. It was never in the cards for us, as badly as I wanted it to be. This is your purpose. Just promise me, whatever happens, you won't throw your life away...you'll live to see this through."

"Why does this sound like a goodbye?"

"Because it is. After we get out of here, I'm leaving. I am the one who needed you, not the other way around. My presence is a complication to what you're destined to become."

"Ms. van Arbos, if I may?"

"Regis?"

"When Vander takes his place as the rightful king of Astellia, he's going to need somebody like you to handle duties of keeping the peace. If you can find it within your heart to heal, there is a difference to be made by you, as well. I know you feel as though you could never live up to the desire of your parents...like you're a deviation to what they wanted their daughter to become, but like Vander, you wished for a future outside of expectation. If they are to be the guiding light of the twin kingdoms, perhaps your place is to become their sword. You are respected, and accomplished, well beyond your years, and you are as talented with a weapon as you are with your magic. Do not throw away what you've become because you feel as if you're a complication...there's nothing complicated about a broken heart."

Seeing that Regis had taken over the conversation, and knowing that nothing he could say right now would do anything other than make things worse between him and Alex, Vander took a few strides forward, moving faster to catch up to Kelaria, letting him walk at her side. "Hey...I apologize for that...are you holding up okay? Lean against me if needed, we're going to make it out of here..."
 
Kelaria did her best to focus on their conversation, even if some parts were hard to hear. It helped to keep her from succumbing to the numbing darkness that threatened to take her mind. She didn't try to ease the silence between herself and Alexandra. She knew this was all already hard enough on the warrior. Kelaria's proximity didn't make things any easier. She didn't push her away though either. Though she resented the necessity of it, she recognized her strength was failing her and she may need someone to carry her.

They were nearing the library as Vander rejoined Kelaria's side, allowing Alexandra to step back. "No need to apologize. You don't have to hide your past from me. I know now that Alexandra was a big part of that. She mattered a great deal to you. She still does, even if it's in a different way." Honestly it had been harder to hear Regis and Alexandra's hope for their kingdoms when this was all over. Kelaria still wasn't sure she was up for the task. "For what it's worth I too am in favor of a future where you don't throw your life away. I mean that. It's not your destiny to die to right your wrongs. You're meant for far greater things than that. The same goes for if anything happens to me. It was a huge risk for you to come here today, Vander Albright. A risk I would be far angrier about if I only had the energy." her voice sounded so frail and distant as she spoke and Kelaria hated every second of it.

Kelaria's strength faltered, and her legs gave out momentarily. Quickly, she grasped onto Vander's arm to stop herself from falling. Had her body been capable of it she would have blushed in that moment. "sorry" she muttered. Though the last thing she wanted as to burden him she couldn't deny how much comfort his arms brought her and how much her body welcomed his warmth. "Speaking of not throwing your life away...you're still hurt. Why didn't you let Alexandra heal you?" A small part of Kelaria was touched that he hadn't. It was some strange act of loyalty towards her. "I can't. I don't know that I will ever be able to again. You should have let her."

Kelaria tried again to stand on her own once they approached the library so she could open the entrance to the passageway but found she still needed Vander's support. "Up ahead behind that old portrait. The wall should be colder than the rest of the stonework. Take me there and I can get it open." Kelaria finally admitting to needing his help.
 
It wasn't anything Vander had not already heard from the others; how he shouldn't throw his life away, how he needed to live to do better things. It was the same response he had gotten multiple times and yet, hearing it from her, somehow seemed to get through to him more than it did hearing it from Alexandra and Regis. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Vander had been ready to give his life in order to save her. He wasn't really giving her a choice in the matter. Now that she was safe, however, things didn't need to play out that way, and it was more apparent now that she, being exactly what he thought was worth dying for, needed him alive more than she needed him to be dead.

He braced her as she leaned against him for support, fulfilling the role he had said that he would in keeping her upright. Her questioning his decision making caught him a little off guard, making it difficult for him to produce an answer for why he rejected Alexandra's healing. He was barely even aware that she had noticed. The response he did give was short and sweet, though perhaps too vague to satisfy her curiosity. "I just wanted it to be you."

Keeping her steady, Vander focused on escorting Kelaria towards the portrait on the wall. This, plus the distance between them, meant he hadn't heard the remainder of the conversation between Alexandra and Regis, but when she caught up, she appeared quite pensive and lost in thought.

"Intruders!"

A voice came from behind them as Vander let Kelaria get close to the wall hoisting the painting.

"Halt! You are forbidden to wander the-...it's the exile!"

"And the Lieutenant?"

Two guards had entered the hallway behind them, having walked out of a connecting passage they had passed by. Their voice had traveled, Vander could hear more foot steps coming closer as more began to join them. "Help her get the passage open." He instructed Regis, leaving Kelaria in his care for now.

"Come with us, immediately."

"Somebody report to the King!" Another voice added.

Vander looked towards Alexandra, meeting her gaze. They both nodded towards each other before moving forward, towards the guards. They were the only two who could fight, after all. Alexandra opened her palm, her sword appearing within it instantaneously. Seeing her brandish a weapon sent the guards on alert, but from between them stepped forward one who was conspicuously unarmed, nor without armor. Her eyes were a piercing red, a demon amongst those being forced to work beneath Balthier.

Alexandra's sword practically dropped from her fingers.

"M-Marley...? No...it can't be..."

Marley was one of the newest recruits, one that Alexandra had taken under her wing. She thought highly of the young woman, though Vander suspected part of it was just having another female around in a force that was predominantly male.
Click to expand...

Alexandra stared back at the young girl who had practically been her protégé and suddenly lost the will to hold her weapon aloft. She remembered everything, from the first time they met, to the very first time she summoned her sword with magic to protect her. How had this happened? A demon?

"Alex...Alex, what's going on?"

"Hello, Lieutenant. What's wrong? You look like you've seen a demon."
 
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"I just wanted it to be you." While it pained Kelaria to know that there was a chance it never would be her again, she also couldn't deny the bit of warmth his statement filled her with. She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by the shouts from guards. Damn! They had been discovered! Did it never end? Kelaria stumbled towards the wall and quickly began to search its surface for something. She watched Regis join her side and tried hard not to let the commotion behind her distract her.

Kelaria dipped her finger again on the blood pooling on her arm. The blood was beginning to clot there, and it wouldn't be a useable source much longer. She had to get them out of there quickly before Balthier showed up. Kelaria found the spot she was looking for and once again closed her eyes in an attempt to concentrate. She traced a much smaller symbol on the stone wall. It glowed faintly purple before dissolving into the stone. She stepped back slightly in order to watch the stone shift. Finally, she allowed herself to turn her attention back to Vander and Alexandra. eyes widening when she saw Alexandra drop her sword.
 
"Alex...Alex, what's going on?"

"Hello, Lieutenant."

"You look like you've seen a demon."

"Alex..."

"...a demon."

"You've seen a demon..."

"Alex!"

Alexandra snapped back to reality, hearing the sound of Vander's voice calling back to her. The kind hearted girl she had cared about so much had been replaced with a monster, no different than Balthier, or Finlay, or any of the others tainted by Alzahar's darkness. How could this have happened? Marley wasn't even supposed to be in Arellia. Was she truly meant to suffer this greatly? First, she lost Vander, then, she lost her duty as Lieutenant by stabbing Balthier in the back, and now, Marley too? The cruelty life had been showing to not only her, but also Vander, Kelaria, and Regis, went beyond any words she could possibly muster, leaving her silent, trapped between a demon's taunting and the concerned call of the man she still loved.

"Dropping your sword before a duel? That's so unlike you, Lieutenant."

"Marley...how is...what happened to you?"

"What happened to me? No. What happened to you? You were my hero and now look at you...too weak to even raise your weapon, colluding with the wanted, and the traitors...you've fallen so far."

"Why did Balthier do this to you? I don't understand..."

"To punish you, of course."

"What?"

Vander was already on the way towards Alexandra when he heard the stone shifting behind them, their exit route having been made by Kelaria. He too felt caught now. Did he go to Alexandra's side to support her? Or did he turn back to Kelaria, bringing her and Regis to safety? "Alex...we need to go." He told her, hoping she'd decide that retreat was the option, but she appeared frozen in place. "Don't listen to her. That's not your friend anymore..."

"You betrayed him, so he took something from you in return. It's only been a short while, but I've never been happier...it's like I'm finally who I was always meant to be. Out from your shadow and into my own. Maybe I'll even be the new Lieutenant once you're gone..."

"He did this because...of me...?"

"Alex..."

"Of course he did...but that's nothing compared to what I did to your mother and father."

"No! Marley, you.....what did you do? What did you do!?" Alexandra's voice broke as she raised it, confused and concerned by what she had just heard.

"I did what I was told. If only you had done the same, all of this could have been avoided, but I thank you. Really, I do. If you hadn't been so stupid, I would have never gotten my promotion!" Marley spoke so proudly of herself, her once soft, and cute voice distorted by Alzahar's influence. "Do you want to see what I've learned?" She began to walk closer to Alex, holding her right hand outwards. Around it formed the shape of an axe, but it wasn't any tangible form of metal. It appeared to be made from her dark magic, given shape and form by her will, manifesting as her weapon of choice. She continued to approach Alexandra, who made no sign of moving an inch to defend herself, or to run.

"Damn it, Alex! Move!" Vander called out. Looking back at the weakened Kelaria and Regis in the door way of their exit, Vander knew that as much as he wanted to be with Kelaria, he couldn't let this happen. This wasn't fair. His brother had to be stopped. "Go! We'll catch up. Don't argue with me, you have to leave. Now." Kelaria was stubborn, he just prayed that, in the state she was in, this time she'd actually listen.

"Come on, Alex. Let's play." Marley taunted, her voice playful like a child, chilling and haunting. She lifted the axe above her head and brought it down towards Alexandra's chest.

Vander focused on the sword he had seen in the blacksmith's shop, the one his father had commissioned, the weapon he was told very sternly that he was not allowed to have. It disappeared from its rack and appeared in his hand in all of it's glory. Vander ripped it from it's sheathe, casting it aside, the crystals on it's blade igniting with a purple glow as his magic sunk into the handle of the sword, covering the sharper, finished side of the weapon in a thick edge of dark energy that collided with Marley's axe, repelling it before it could sink it's blackened teeth into a shell shocked Alexandra.
 
Kelaria watched in horror as she realized what exactly was happening to Alexandra. Someone she cared about was being torn from her in one of the most painful and cruel ways Kelaria could imagine. Even though she wanted to help in some way, Kelaria knew she was powerless to do anything.

"Go! We'll catch up. Don't argue with me, you have to leave. Now." Kelaria knew he was right. She had to leave. She should get herself and Regis to safety. She was in no position to fight and without her magic or a weapon she had nothing to fight with. Vander was right, she should go. She couldn't though. Not just because she couldn't hold herself up long enough to do so but because she wasn't capable of making herself leave while Vander and Alexandra were in danger and while Alexandra was suffering. She had no intention of arguing with Vander she simply wouldn't leave. Kelaria turned to Regis. "Get into the tunnel. You'll be safe there. I'll close this entrance. With the others shut no one else can enter without me opening it for them. "
 
Vander was so caught up on intercepting the attack that he hadn't a chance to look back, to see if Regis, and especially Kelaria, were actually listening to his warning to leave. Marley locked eyes with him, her demonic red piercing straight through him as if trying to find the demon inside of him as well. The blade held up, despite it's untested nature, the purple edge he created holding steady, biting back against her dark magic with his own in a way that was drawing from him naturally, therefore not weakening his resolve.

"V-Van?" Alexandra looked up at him, snapping out of her stupor when the two weapons met just inches away from her. She recoiled, backwards, behind him, letting him take the lead as axe and sword met together, vying for control in a back and forth tug of war. Despite her diminutive stature, Marley was powerful, fueled by her demon-hood, making it difficult for the larger Vander to match her strength head on.

"No fun. I didn't want to play with you." Marley whined, laughing afterwards in a way that sounded like nails scraping against chalk.

"How unfortunate. I'm all you've got."

"No problem! The King will love me even more if I strike down his wretch of a brother."

Marley pulled back, immediately swinging her axe down a second time, attempting to catch Vander off guard. He held steady, keeping his blade horizontal, absorbing the blow, causing a small pulse of purple energy to emit from the blade upon contact. The crystals clattered, the dark beam of magic faltering for a moment before buzzing back to life in full force. So far, so good.

Alexandra looked back, towards the passage, watching as it sealed itself, keeping Regis safe on the other side. To her chagrin, however, Kelaria stood in the hallway still, acting as though she was in any condition to help them.

"Well, don't just stand around. Stop them?" She ordered the other guards with childlike wonder. They had been watching the clash, but listened upon hearing her order, moving forward, around the two of them, to try and reach Kelaria and Alexandra next. Vander tried to break away to stop it, but Marley swung again, keeping his focus on her. "Hey, pay attention to me! We aren't done here!"

Alexandra summoned her sword, but her hand was shaking as she held it up. She still hadn't recovered, but she firmly planted herself between Kelaria and the six guards who had amassed and were not mobilizing towards them.

"You should have ran. You're in no condition to fight without your light..." Alexandra sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the weakened Princess. As her eyes moved forward, she looked past the immediate threat, straight at Marley. She couldn't get over what she had witnessed, or how it was making her feel. Her hand shook again, she almost lowered her sword but caught herself, holding it back up.

"I-I am Alexandra van Arbos....daughter of...P-Phinneas and Lucretia van Arbos, F-first Lieutenant of..." She tried to give her usual battle cry, the same she had given them, but she couldn't. She was doubting herself now, holding her weapon against her people, against Marley... "Y-yield or...yield or face my blade."
 
"I couldn't leave. You and Vander would have no way into the passageway if I did." It was a flimsy excuse and Kelaria knew it and was sure Alexandra knew it as well. She watched Alexandra's shaking hand. "That's not her Alexandra." Kelaria echoed Vander's words. "You can't think of it as her. I don't know who she was to you but obviously she was important enough for Balthier to use her against you. Don't let him win and don't let him taint who she was to you. Her mind is not her own." She thought of the villagers who had tried to attack her and again of the men in the forest, the man she killed and his companions. So many under the False King's influence. Tools for him to use against them. She wished she could somehow protect Alexandra from that, but it was too late and there was nothing Kelaria could do. There was nothing any of them could do at the moment but survive.

"Do not doubt yourself because of this. You are Alexandra van Arbos. Show them that. You can't save her right now, but you can stop them. Don't let Balthier use her against you." Kelaria's gaze flickered to where Vander and Marley fought, checking to see if he was alright, before she turned her attention back to Alexandra. "He did this because of him not because of you." She thought back to Regis' words to her back in the dungeon. "Why are you to blame for Balthier's actions?"
 
The last thing Alexandra expected was a pep-talk, especially from Kelaria, but that was exactly what she was getting. She couldn't help but feel that Regis was rubbing off on the Princess, though she took the words to heart. She was just so distraught with the news, unsure what was real and what wasn't, that it was making it hard for her to focus on anything. Seeing Marley turned into a monster, and being faced with the possibility that her parents had been hurt, or even worse, had shaken the once proud warrior to her core, and her broken heart wasn't doing her any favors in trying to stay strong.

"I'm not to blame..." She answered, trying to convince herself. "I'm not to blame. I didn't do this. I didn't do any of this..." Did she truly believe that? Not quite, but it was a start.

When the first guard reached her, she had ensnared his legs with her magic, preventing him from taking another step forward. As the second rushed her, she parried his weapon out of his hand, hearing it clatter against a nearby wall. "I don't want to hurt any of you..." She told them as the third approached, hesitantly. "It doesn't have to be like this. You're being used...we're all being used."

Vander and Marley traded blows, swinging their weapons back and forth against each other, creating pulses of dark magic every time they connected. Marley seemed to be having too much fun unleashing against somebody who she didn't need to hold back against, while Vander was taking notice of how erratic her actions were. From what she had said, she had only barely been converted, that meant she was dangerous because she didn't know how to use her power, or the limits of her true strength. He also knew that could be used against her, however, so he started pushing her a little harder, prodding at her to try and make her unstable.

"You'll never step out of Alexandra's shadow."
"You're a demon and you're not nearly as strong as she is."
"This power is too much for you."

"Shut up!" She yelled, angrily. "You don't know me! You're just a deserter. A traitor! You're just jealous your brother loves me more than he loves you!"

"My brother is a monster...it makes sense he'd love you more, you've become just like him."

Marley screamed, the darkness that formed her axe beginning to grow unstable, just as Vander had hoped. She was losing control of it as her emotions surged. If he aimed just right...

Vander's sword passed through, causing her axe to dissipate. It's edge made contact with Marley's arm, creating a deep gash, drawing blood, splaying it across the carpet of the hallway. The noise that followed afterwards, equal parts frustration and pain, drew the attention of the soldiers approaching on Alexandra as well. They turned back in fear as Marley began to lose more control. Vander was immediately reminded of Finlay, and how the same thing happened to him. As her demonic magic started to peak and take control of her, each of the six soldiers who had been fighting before fell to the floor, coughing up blood. Marley's magic was forced into submission, and a cold air seemed to overtake the hallway as they were joined by their real enemy.

Balthier Albright stood at the far end of the hallway, draining out the life from the guards who had hesitated and failed. He walked past Marley, who, now back in control, immediately took to a knee, bowing before him.

"Back again so soon? I was hoping to have at least a day or two with my special guest before you two came back to play hero. I see you've met my newest recruit. Stand."

Marley lifted to her feet on command, looking up at Balthier with reverence. "Retreat. Heal your wounds...leave them to me."

"Yes, your highness. Right away! Nice knowing you, Alex." She added, mockingly, smirking as she disappeared in a teleport, exiting the hallway.

"M-Marley!" Alexandra called out, but it was too late. "You're a disgrace...she's just a young kid. How could you do that to her? What kind of king are you?"

"The kind of king who gets results. I've done more in a week than both of the old regimes have done in their lifetimes. Who are you to even question me? You lost your right to be concerned with my affairs the moment you decided to turn your sword against me. And speaking of swords..." Balthier's eyes fell to what Vander was holding. "Impressive. I knew our father had commissioned something like that, but I never knew it had been created. How exquisite...letting you wield your magic without casting any spells...thank you for bringing it to me. I humbly accept your offering, exile."

"Not a chance. This wasn't made for you, it isn't yours to take."

"It wasn't made for you either...and that's where you're wrong. Everything in these kingdoms is mine to take. The Araya Lucaris, your sword, your Princess...your lives. How would you like to proceed? If you intend to fight me again, you should know that it won't end well for you. Last time was an aberration, I didn't expect one of my own to be so foolish."

"I had no choice. I don't like what you've become..." Alexandra had been slowly advancing to move towards Vander's side, past the dead bodies of the men Balthier had just murdered without remorse. She wanted him to know she was at his side, even during this.

"And I don't like what you've become, Alexandra." He retorted, speaking with disgust in his voice. "That's why I took away your friend. That's why I took away your family. What else do I need to take from you before you understand...? Maybe it's time I laid the traitorous exile to rest. Maybe that's what it will take."

"No! Don't!"

Vander gripped the handle of his weapon tightly, preparing to defend himself, even though he knew that even with this sword, he was outmatched in his current position. Even if he let the darkness take him, he wasn't sure if it would be enough, it wasn't before. Balthier's demonic magic formed itself into the shape of several sharp, pointed daggers, hovering in the air around Balthier in a semi circle, their aim trained on Vander.

"Father would be ashamed of you."

"And you would be ashamed of him too if you had heard the way he begged for his life in the end..."

Vander's eyes widened and he felt his heart stop in his chest. After everything that had happened...through all of the pain and trauma, he had forgotten the truth. Balthier Albright had killed their father to take the throne, something he never admitted outwardly to Kelaria, and something that Alexandra had never been told either.

"Are you saying that you..."

"I did. Did you really believe our King was caught off guard by an invader and stabbed through the heart in his own throne room? I did what I needed to do to take what I wanted to take. He was weak minded, he didn't have the guts to do what was necessary. Time would have taken him on it's own, I just decided to speed up the process. How fitting an end it would be for his other son to die in the same way he did, a dagger through the heart orchestrated by my hand. Any last words, Vander? Or will you finally accept me as your new king?"

Vander stared his brother down, standing straight and proud, despite the fear he felt knowing what was coming. He still hadn't realized Kelaria was still there, that she would have to watch him die, or lose himself entirely. Defiant in the face of the man he once knew, he chose his last words wisely, speaking them out loud with pride.

"You'll never be my King."

The daggers shot forward, weaving around Alexandra, who had stepped forward to try and deflect them, desperately trying to stop them from reaching Vander. They wrapped around to her left and right and convening together in a centralized formation. Several of them smashed into Vander's sword, lobbing away the forward-most attack, but he wasn't fast enough to stop them all. He grunted in pain as they pierced through him, stabbing into his legs and his shoulders. Still, Vander stood, but the sword fell from his hand. Blood trickled from each wound, dripping onto the carpet that had already turned red, dying it a deeper shade.
 
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It was stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Kelaria knew it was stupid. Had she not just scolded Vander for doing reckless things to save her? She knew it was stupid but the knowledge that it was so unforgivably stupid didn't stop Kelaria from acting. A scream threw itself from her lips as the daggers went flying at Vander, dodging Alexandra's attempts to block them completely. "No!" Kelaria cried and stumbled forward in her attempt to reach him. Anger built up inside her. Anger at Balthier of course but also anger at herself. Vander needed her and she was too weak and powerless to do a damn thing about it! She was too weak and too powerless because she banished her own magic. She could hardly move and would be forced to watch the life drain out of him the same way she had to see that family suffer.

It was a combination of the look of betrayal the father in the throne room had given her and the knowledge that Vander was about to go down the same path that spurred Kelaria on to act stupidly. It was so unforgivably stupid and idiotic, but she did it anyway. She grabbed the stone from her pocket that she had used on herself before, and she threw it. She threw a rock at a powerful demon. A rock. She didn't look for a weapon or try to call her magic. She threw a rock. Despite her current state of weakness, the rock hit Balthier's head with a satisfying thud! and the sharp edge sliced his cheek. Unknown to Kelaria, her own blood on the rock caused his new cut to burn. Kelaria knew it wasn't going to hurt him, but she hoped it would draw his attention. It wasn't hard to anger a demon after all. If she drew his attention away perhaps one of the others could do something. It was stupid but she refused to stand by and watch Vander's life be taken from him...from her. It was so very stupid, but Kelaria didn't seem to care even though the fear on her face was real.

"I won't let you kill him." Kelaria announced through gritted teeth as she forced herself to stand upright. She dug and she dug deep inside her in a feeble attempt to call upon her magic and to unleash it from her. Her dull eyes were strained in concentration.
 
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Balthier lifted his hand upwards towards his cheek, his fingers moving along the gash that had somehow been created by something as simple as a stone. Worse still for him was the fact that it was burning, like it had been laced with some kind of lethal poison. He conjured magic towards the tip of his finger, urging it across the gash to heal it, but the wound did not close. Instead, it remained open, still stinging, seared by the light within her blood though he had no idea how this was possible or what had even happened. It only made him more angry.

"You insolent little..." He cursed, beneath his breath, his distorted voice showing his anger quite clearly. Realizing that she was destined to be stubborn about this, no matter what, Balthier started walking forward, ignoring the pain with his eyes trained on Vander once more. "Stop me, then." He challenged, knowing that she had none of her light left within her to muster anything more than a rock or two, and the tears that would follow once she saw the person she cared for die.

Alexandra swung her blade at Balthier, hoping to slow him down. "Get away from them, demon." Her sword was repelled by a blast of dark magic from his right hand. Alexandra retorted by lifting her own free hand towards her King, trying to use her magic to push him back, only for it to be overwhelmed by Balthier's counter. He operated his dark magic like it was the easiest thing in the world, showing little to no effort at all as he repelled Alexandra, who was powerful in her own right, and sent her flying across the hallway, smashing against the stone wall with a thud that caused her to crumple at the foot of it in pain, gasping for air.

Vander tried to call out for Kelaria, to tell her to run. How could she be so foolish? He told her to leave, why was she being stubborn, even now? She could have escaped, she could have gone to the Araya Lucaris and she would have won. Now, they were all in grave danger, and she was about to fall back into the clutches of Balthier. This time, he knew his brother wouldn't underestimate her, she would never be permitted to be alone long enough to escape. Balthier kicked Vander's chest, knocking him onto his back from his knelt position, the black daggers that had pierced his body still in place within his limbs. As he walked, he effortlessly scooped up the blade that their father had made, holding it in his hand, watching the crystals along it's body turn pure, demonic onyx. It scraped across the floor, tearing through the carpet like a knife in butter, sparks of dark energy emitting from the contact.

Balthier stood between Kelaria and Vander, once again taunted her to try and stop him. "These are your allies? The people you've put your trust in?" He asked, referring to both Vander and Alexandra, who he had so easily incapacitated. "It's no wonder your light abandoned you. I would be ashamed as well." The King lifted the point of the sword, pushing it into Vander's chest. His hands reached up to clasp around the blade, desperately struggling to try and pull it away, but the damage done to his limbs meant he could barely muster enough strength, and the sharp edge of the sword dug into his palms, drawing more blood as it sliced through his skin.

"K-Kela-..." Vander pleaded, once more, coughing blood as he did, wheezing for air. She needed to go while there was still a chance. Maybe, if he could just buy her a little more time...

Vander activated what he had left of his dark magic, teleporting away from his place on the floor and reappearing behind his brother. He summoned Alex's sword, since he had no control over the one Balthier had taken, and gave it everything he had left in him to try and stab it into Balthier's back. Dark magic formed like a shield, causing the sword to bounce off of it. Balthier turned and buried his fist square into Vander's jaw, sending him back down to the floor with a thud and a sickening crunch. "Pathetic." Balthier chastised, remorseless, turning his attention back to Kelaria now, each slow, prodding step bringing his terrifying presence closer to her once more. "You still have what I want. Let's make a deal, shall we?" He proposed, a sick grin over his features.

"I'll leave the choice up to you as a show of good will. I will spare the traitor of your choice, only one will die today. But if you do not choose, your punishment will be to watch them both die in front of you. What will it be, Princess?"
 
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