After leaving their bodies in the room opposite where we had been kept, we snuck down the corridor. It would be quite difficult to reach the outside with the amount of people working through the halls. In the end we decided a different route and pretended like we belonged. Walking freely past the lower class servants and avoiding the others. As we made it to the gardens we found a small corner to hide in.
"Taylor what do you know about the Palace?" I asked quietly.
"Never been personally but I'm pretty sure the building there should lead to the dungeon," she pointed across the garden where a squad of knights blocked the door.
"Awfully heavily guarded for a weekday don't you think?"
Earnest cracked his neck, "Well I have been meaning to get some exercise since getting off that boat. Don't worry I'll go easy on them."
I grit my teeth anxiously, "I feel like we're taking this too far but... better to ask for forgiveness than permission I guess. Taylor we'll sneak inside while they're distracted."
"Follow me," she squeezed my hand and let go, leading the way behind the bushes.
Earnest waited for a minute before waltzing straight to the centre of the garden. "Why hello there!" his voice bellowed towards the knights. "I was wondering if you've seen my companions."
"Y-you!?" a knight at the front drew his sword. "Stay where you are."
"Hey now, no need to cause a fuss. I was just taking a walk."
"You're not meant to be here." Out of the six knights guarding the building four approached Earnest. From their postures they were ready to attack at any moment.
"I was under the impression I was a guest here. The gardens are lovely by the way, it would be a shame if anything were to happen to them."
"Hand over your sword," the knights spaced themselves in front of him.
"Sorry this thing is my responsibility," Earnest placed his hand on the hilt.
At this point Taylor and I had reached the building. It had no windows but with our ability to sneak by and the knights distracted, getting in was easy. Their eyes didn't even flick by us as we walked in front of them in plain view. I just hoped Earnest wouldn't take things too far, though if they touched his sword there would be hell to pay. As we reached the stair case leading downwards a loud crash resounded outside filled with the shouts of men. Footsteps ran towards us climbing the stairs as Taylor and I shoved ourselves into a small nook, our bodies pressed together. On the plus side there'd be less people to sneak by downstairs.
"My, we're quite close aren't we?" Taylor whispered in my ear. "Feels nice."
"Time and place Taylor," it was a tight squeeze with the two of us and I'd be lying if I said a part of me wasn't thinking that way. "Let's go. Even Earnest can only stall so long."
We quickly made our way down the stairs and they soon opened up to a larger room. Three guards were in clear sight watching the entrance. Being that vigilant even Taylor's technique would be seen through but it gave us enough time to get close.
"Hey you're-," the guard screamed and pointed his spear towards me. I charged in from the front sword drawn as Taylor disappeared around them. My sword beat away his spear as he stepped back trying to stab me again. As he did so his eyes wavered causing his aim to miss by a long mark, making it easy for me to knock him in the head. My heart beat painfully as I cut off my mana. Taylor had already taken care of the other two.
"After fighting Earnest so much this is actually pretty easy," I commented and made sure they were unconscious.
"You say that but aren't you in a lot of pain?" Taylor remarked.
"I'm used to it," I sheathed my sword as we entered the next room. It was a dungeon alright. Sectioned off cells with thick metal bars imbued with magic. Several people I didn't recognise were chained to the wall. They were bruised and battered, their eyes hollow from the torment of being locked away. What caught my eye however was the hulking figure at the end of prison. His head forced downwards and locked tight, the chains binding him twice as thick as the rest and worse still were the metal spikes plunged into his back sealing him.
"Ronalt!" I ran towards him.
He couldn't even look up at me as Taylor threw me the keys to open the door. I worked quickly to unbind the chains and free him. The spikes vibrated with magic and as I grasped them, a foreboding sensation passed through me only to be expelled.
"Sorry Ronalt," I wrenched the spikes from his body as a black ooze spilled from the wound. "Taylor stay away from those spikes." I warned her and drew out the few potions I had on me, pouring them on his wounds and forcing him to drunk the rest.
He drunk it barely conscious. Seconds passed before he was finally able to speak, "Rain?"
"What the hell did they do to you?" I asked angrily. I should have known something wasn't right but to go this far.... "Can you stand?"
"Almost," he groaned as the potions did their work. If I had known things would go this way I'd have brought some stronger ones.
"Ronalt where's Lara and Ardent?"
He coughed and shook himself, "Ardent went to the guild and never came back. Lara... they took her away."
"What about Marley?"
"I haven't seen her," he roused himself to stand. There was every chance that Marley hadn't arrived yet. Hopefully she was safe. "We need to find Lara."
"How did they even do this to you?"
"The first day we arrived we were welcomed with open arms. Then the next, they lined up a dozen orphans and threatened to kill them if the Lara didn't do as they said." He shook his head, "I didn't think they would go that far and Lara gave herself up." His eyes focused on me, "Rain, they're working with the Imperium."
My heart thudded in a fearful anger. From dealing with them once we all knew just how far they could and would go. "For now we need to get out of here. Earnest is outside. If we can reach the slums we might be able to hide and form a plan to save Lara." The worst thing we could do now was be captured and held as hostages.
"Give me a sword," Ronalt stood to his full height. Though he wasn't at complete health, his will was.
"Here you go," Taylor handed him one. "I get the feeling there isn't going to be a ball."
"Not one for dancing at least," I also drew my sword. "No more mercy. Kill anyone in our way. They'll pay for what they've done to us." Unlike Lara a simple hostage wouldn't stop me.
Ronalt gestured forwards, "Lead the way."
"Taylor stay hidden unless we need you," I faced her seriously. "Worst case I need you to warn the Kingdom. Whatever you do, you cannot die."
"Same goes for you," she nodded stepped back and seemed to disappear.
Ronalt and I ran up the stairs quickly reaching the top. What I expected to see was a mound of unconscious knights and Earnest waiting. He was a Master Swordsman and even the most experienced knight paled in comparison to him. They'd need dozens of people to stop him. Yet, when we reached the gardens a different sight entered my eyes. Something I never thought I'd see.
"Lara... why?" the words fell from my lips loosely as a sense of despair closed into my heart. The garden had been destroyed and the sky above was covered in thick dark clouds. Bodies laid thrown about and in the centre of it all was Lara standing, her pure white sword impaled through Earnest's body.
He coughed once, turning his eyes to us, choking, "Sorry."
Lara drew the sword ending his life as he fell to the ground dead. Her eyes were cold and lifeless, as if killing Earnest had been nothing.
"Taylor run," I whispered and stepped forward raising my voice. "What the hell did you do to her?"
A clap and a victorious laugh, "Not quite what I had in mind for tonight but it was still an excellent performance." An older man stood at the sidelines, the uniform he wore a more ornate version of the Imperium robes and on top his face was a gold mask to match. Behind him several regular Imperium waited. His eyes were filled with mirth, "Not even hesitating to kill her past friend, the Hero is ours."
"What did you do!?" I yelled louder furious. This wasn't the Lara I knew and the change in her frightened me. Expressionless and cold without a single care.
"Simple Rain Axel of Axel, we took control of her," the voice belonged to General Elroy as he stepped beside the Imperium man.
"You bastards," Ronalt cursed them.
"Lara!" I screamed at her. "Snap out of it, it's me Rain! Please, don't you remember me?" Her emotionless eyes didn't waver. I grit my teeth, "It's me Jane! Come on Lara say something." Not even a twitch.
"It took a lot of mana you know," the Imperium man laughed. "So much more than we thought it would. You should be proud, she was strong and fought us for days before she finally succumbed. It was a good thing we harvested it in surplus."
His words clicked within my head and for a brief moment I once more saw the massacre of Axel. This is what it was for. The reason they attacked Axel and Kerchest, small villages of not much notice, reaping hundreds and thousands of lives for mana.
"I'll kill you!" I pointed my sword at them. No matter how many times I had to die I'd kill them.
General Elroy laughed, "That's if you can kill her first." He gestured to Lara who raised her sword at us. An immense pressure threatened to collapse my mind. This was the power of the Hero and without her conscience there was nothing holding it back.
"Rain, run with Taylor, I'll hold her off as long as I can," Ronalt stepped forward.
"No I-,"
"Go Rain!" he yelled determined. In the next moment there was a flash. I only saw it briefly and couldn't react in time. Ronalt as weak as he was could barely move and right before my eyes Lara pierced his chest. Her eyes focused with a chilling indifference.
"Rrra!" Ronalt screamed and dropped his sword, instead encasing Lara in his firm muscles, almost covering her entirely. He was seriously trying to crush her, tears in his eyes, but then his body stiffened and without so much as a warning he fell to his knees. A single emotion captured on his face, regret. His head rolled off his shoulders, landing to the ground with a sickening thud.
I charged my mana and jumped away as fast as I could. Lara's eyes kept perfect track of me undeterred despite the familiar pain in my chest. A sense of panic enveloped me. If she could see me then-. It was too late, her eyes flicked to my side and from her palm a spear of ice shot.
"Taylor!" I screamed in desperation only to watch her appear as the magic impaled her to the wall.
She coughed, "Bitch."
No.... No! I couldn't stand what I was seeing. Ronalt, Earnest, Taylor! All of them killed by the last person I expected, my best friend, the Hero. I ran to Taylor's side.
She choked a laugh as blood poured down the wall behind her, "Not-not how I thought...." A tear rolled down her cheek as her eyes looked to mine unfocused and a tentative smile tried to break through the pain. "Bye... Rain." It was too much. The spear of ice disappeared leaving a gaping hole through her chest. With nothing to hold her she slid down into crumpled heap, dead. No matter what I did there was no way I could heal her.
"Why?" I faced the onlooking crowd with tear filled eyes as Lara stared at me, the true definition of a Queen of Ice.
"A final test," General Elroy clapped his hands. "If she can kill those closest to her, then she is truly under our control."
I grit my teeth feeling a seething rage unlike ever before. My mana flared causing my heart to burn inside me. "No matter what, I'll make you suffer." There was no amount of death that could appease me now.
"Hero, kill him," the Imperium man ordered.
My eyes narrowed towards Lara. I'd do what I had to, even if it was her. We charged at each other but it was clear who would be the victor. My head rolled but a split second later I was once more standing, Taylor impaled against the wall, her body lifeless. A resounding heartache scraped across my nerves. There was no going back. After all we had been through, this was how it ended.
I roared in pain and anger. The volume of my voice whipped further by the mana raging inside my body. The sound caused them all to flinch, all except Lara who regarded me with cold indifference.
"Kill him!" the Imperium man shouted as my eyes locked on to him and General Elroy. They were the casters of the spell. If they died Lara would be free. No matter how many times it would take I would end them and the entire Empire. I would grind it all into the stone so that no semblance of their reign ever existed.
I charged towards them but Lara blocked my way. I prepared myself, then to my surprise she stabbed her sword into the ground. For a moment I thought perhaps she regained her sanity that she remembered me but then she clapped her hands and a tremendous outpour of mana filled the space around us. I looked down in horror at the circuit shining at our feet. How? It was the same one we had used against the Demon Lord. Her instincts were telling her how to kill me. The cage of light closed around us. I felt a part of me cut away and the fear of death struck me like it had never before.
"Lara please," I opened my mouth as she picked up her sword. "It's me. Stop this."
Before I knew it, her sword had crossed through my head.