What lay beyond the wall was a tunnel filled to the brim with dust. Ellis was confused, thinking this is where they would hide the salt since he had not seen any lining the walls outside. But then he remembered the city was nicknamed ‘the white jewel’, and that the walls and floor of the palace were practically made out of the stuff.

  The tunnel gave enough space for Ellis to stretch his arms out, and was about two meters tall. Michael’s hair grazed the ceiling as they entered and started jogging through the tunnel. Ameena waved a hand at the hole in the wall Ellis had made, which plunged them into darkness.

  Ameena’s hand crept onto his shoulder the moment the lights went out.

  “How long will that illusion hold?” Ellis asked in a whisper, stepping over a jagged salt crystal in the middle of the floor.

  “As long as my endurance,” she replied.

  “So not long enough. We need to hurry,” Michael corrected, not bothering to whisper.

  Ellis was shocked Michael wanted to hurry, but didn’t complain as he trudged through. This must be a series of tunnels lining every wall in the palace, and just like Ameena predicted they came across no barricades or screaming guards, no defenses of any kind. But knowing their luck, he activated his truth necklace anyway, hoping his small amount of mana would rejuvenate in time.

  The problem was Ellis’s old calculations were off. His truth sight used to last 6 minutes and rejuvenate in 10, but now it lasted 7 minutes and rejuvenated just after the necklace’s activation dissipated. He wasn’t sure why, but he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

  His eyes were now good enough that the dark only limited his vision, and didn’t outright blot it out. The status screens blocked out what he could see, so everything before him remained relatively unknown. Ellis tried to sort through them as he picked his way through the unkept tunnel, the dust making his throat itch. But once he had finished adjusting himself to all the information screaming at him, he realized none of it told him where to go to find the throneroom.

  “Ameena? Where am I going?” he whispered once again.

  “Take a left at that next bend,” she ordered, still clutching onto his shirt.

  “So you know where you're going?” he asked.

  “We are going away from the hole in the wall that leads to dozens of palace guards,” she answered.

  So she didn’t know either. Ellis found some comfort in their shared ignorance, at least.

  “How long will it take your mana to regenerate?” he asked again.

  “I have three back already. Another ten to fifteen minutes and I’ll be at full capacity once again. Now stop asking questions and walk, boy,” she snapped.

  Ellis almost shook her hand off her shoulder and sprinted into the dark, leaving them here to rot. But Michael would never let that happen. And the man’s gaze was something Ellis could almost feel boring into his back as they walked.

  Ten minutes of wandering later, they passed by a doorway. There had to be doorways or something of that nature to allow people in here in case they wanted to fix the salt lines… but this was not that. It had no door or hinges, and it was not hidden by a painting like one of the secret entrances they had tip toed past earlier.

  This doorway led to a black hole, not even Ellis’s eyes able to see what lay beyond it. On the wall next to it was a long pink streak, like a child had run through here while scratching her crayon into the wall as she did so. He activated his truth necklace again in hopes it would reveal something, and all that popped up was a single status screen telling him the dimensions of a staircase. But that couldn’t be right, because it said it had over twelve thousand steps.

  Ellis had stopped to look at it, and Ameena had stopped with him. But when she saw the hole, her grip on his shoulder grew tighter, like she was preparing for a fight. When he explained what was in front of them to Michael, she didn't respond or tell him to keep walking for once. He found that unusual, but then she did something bizarre:

  She crept forward until her ear was next to his, and peered over his shoulder at the doorway like something would jump out of the black to drag her into its depths if too much of her body was exposed.

  Michael almost wrenched her off him as he strode past, and let loose a torrent of fire down the hole. Ellis covered his eyes, the new light source far too bright. But Ameena did not. She stood stock still, Michael’s hand still on her shoulder as she stared at the cavernous space revealed by the light show.

  Ellis could hear the bastard rolling his eyes at Ameena’s… strangeness. “Oh no, a set of stairs. Watch out, they might bite you.”

  When they didn’t, she shook loose his hand and marched forward at a pace Ellis had to jog to catch up with.

  Michael flew past Ellis and was at her side as she took turn after turn, leading them deeper and deeper into the palace. Ellis had been able to hear shouts echoing throughout the tunnel far earlier, indicating the illusion had worn off, but now even that faded as he followed Ameena’s almost panicked pace into the dark.

  They came to a tunnel that didn’t fit in with the rest. It seemed more like it was part of the actual palace, where people would frequent rather than a hidden away tunnel the nobles could slink through for their unholy affairs.

  There were six pillars jutting out the wall, marble white decorated with yellow cracks that stretched floor to ceiling. On each pillar was a candle, most of them looked old, the dust accumulated on them undisturbed. That was different to the floor, which had hundreds of footprints going back and forth from the walls lined by the pillars. Each of those walls had light slipping out the bottom of them, as if they were doorways. They provided enough illumination for Ellis to take it all in.

  Ameena had stopped at the sight of it, her eyes growing wide as she looked around the large space. Michael was at her side, giving her a side eye like if he stared at her long enough, he would figure out what the problem with her was. She stood there for a long time, just staring, until Ellis waved a hand in front of her face.

  “You good?” he asked.

  She blinked when he said that, and shook her head before walking into the room with hunched shoulders, every slight flicker from the light under those walls making her flinch. Her feet stopped moving at the first wall on the left, and with a shaking hand pulled the candle on the pillar lining it.

  A loud creaking sound filled the air as old gears rattled through the walls, pulling the wall in front of her upwards at a snail's pace, more and more light flooding into the cavernous room they stood in with every passing second.

  Ellis and Michael shared a glance, before joining Ameena’s side. Ellis had his crossbow out and his knife ready to go, Michael drew his sword and faced the wall like the palace guards might jump out at them any second.

  The wall disappeared into the ceiling, and what greeted them was not something Ellis expected to find. What lay beyond the wall was a little girls' room. A rich little girls room, fit for a princess. Pink dolls and wooden castles littered the floor, bad drawings dotted the walls, plastered everywhere there wasn’t a mirror or cupboard overflowing with garments that even a noble would kill for. And the bed was the largest Ellis had ever seen, taking up the majority of the room, with silk sheets and a blanket the colour of purple.

  Ellis saw a teddy bear disappear under the bedframe when he stepped through the doorway. Michael followed him in, Ameena holding onto the hem of his shirt as she tiptoed into the space. Her usual scowl was replaced with a quivering lip as her eyes darted around the room, her shoulders hunched like she wanted to make herself smaller.

  Trying his best to ignore her, Ellis activated his truth sight as he pretended to study the room, inching closer and closer until he was two feet away from the massive bed.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  His necklace revealed a stat block:

  A child of Alehemet:

  Helena Smith:

  Strength: 6 (toddler Penalty: -5)

  Mana: 1

  Dexterity: 7 (toddler Penalty: -5)

  Perception: 5

  endurance: 5 (toddler Penalty: -3)

  Constitution: 6 (toddler Penalty: -3)

  Total: 30 (toddler Penalty: -16)

  Level 1

  Ellis blinked at the sight of it. Without thinking, he sat down right on top of where that stat block was jutting out from under the bed, planting his legs firmly in the way of where he had seen that teddy bear disappear. He heard a light whimper brush his ears when the bed creaked under his weight.

  Trying his best to keep his face… unsuspicious, he asked, “Ameena? I assume you know the way from here?”

  Ameena ignored him, still looking around the room. Michael nudged her with a gentle push and repeated Ellis’s question, and she let go of his shirt as she blinked herself back into the moment.

  “...Yes. I know the way from here. We’ve missed out on most of the palace's defenses, which will keep the guard occupied. It should be easier from here onwards,” she said, turning around slowly, her eyes scanning the room.

  When she saw Ellis sitting down on the sheets, her eyes narrowed to slits.

  “Get. Off. My. Bed.”

  Ellis held up his hands in surrender and did as he was told. Michael seemed disappointed, letting loose a sigh as he thumbed his sword hilt, watching the door like a guard might break it down at any moment.

  “Well, there’s nothing here for us from what I can see. Let’s get moving,” Ellis offered, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

  Ameena was still staring daggers at him, but nodded after a moment. “Alright. The throne room is close. Check you have enough bolts, your taking point. Michael and I will be right behind you.”

  She turned and marched to the door. Ellis followed her and lined up at the side of the door first, waiting for the signal to open it. Michael took a step toward him, and he tried to hide his sigh of relief. It was okay. He didn’t know. He had missed it.

  As if the man could read his mind, he spun on his heel and walked over to the bed. With one hand, he reached under the bedframe as Ellis dashed towards him, his knife half way out its scabbard as a loud snarling filled the air.

  “And what stole that nice teddy bear when I walked in?” Michael asked, pulling out his arm with a little girl clinging to it with her teeth, the snarl from her lips dangerous as she gnawed at Michael’s thumb.

  “Michael! Leave her alone!” Ellis protested, reaching to grab his shoulder.

  With his free hand, Michael smacked Ellis across the face, the blow sending him hurtling to the floor.

  He brought the girl up to his mismatched eyes once Ellis was out the way. “It seems to be a child! Fascinating what you can find in a little girl’s room.”

  Ellis tried to recover from the slap, staggering to his knees as the floor and ceiling started melding together in his mind. Ameena was staring at the girl the same way she had stared at the room.

  Like she was seeing an old nightmare, climbing out from under her bed with a laugh, asking why she thought she could ever leave.

  The girl tried to scream once she realized that biting Michael wouldn’t work. So he clamped his hand over her mouth and put a finger to his lips. “Shhh now girly.”

  His voice was comforting, as he almost strangled the poor thing, her eyes almost bulging out of her head before he let go of her mouth. She coughed a bit, but didn’t stop trying to pry the fingers holding her loose.

  “Once my daddy sees you—” she began, her voice shaky.

  Michael’s smiling face dimmed only slightly, and that was enough to make her stop talking. Ellis tried to reload, but her voice made the bolt in his hands freeze. He knew that voice. The first night on the silk road had stuck with him more than he thought, not because of anything else besides a little girl, offering him a pinecone.

  And now there she was, trying to put on a brave face and failing miserably.

  Shaking off the tightness in his chest, he got the loaded crossbow planted into his shoulder and aimed at the bastard's head.

  And then Ameena was standing in the way, bundling the girl up into her arms as she wrenched her away from Michael. “There there, it’s okay, we won’t hurt you, I promise,” she whispered, over and over again.

  In response the little girl whacked Ameena in the face with the teddy bear she still clung to in her little hand. Ameena didn’t even blink, just continued trying to shush her as Michael loomed over the both of them.

  “What are we going to do with her?” he asked, like there was something to be done.

  The little girl’s voice piped up, “you can go away?”

  “We are taking her with us,” Ameena said, ignoring the girl as she writhed in her arms, unable to break free from Ameena’s grip.

  Michael sighed before massaging the bridge of his nose, “Ameena, we can’t—”

  “We can. We will. What’s your alternative? Stab her through the face!?” She gave him a fierce look. “No. We will take her with us. And we will keep her safe.” She sounded like she was explaining the colour of the sky, or the next beat of her heart. Something that is, and would come to pass.

  Michael closed his eyes and crunched his face, reaching out with his free hand towards Ameena and grabbing the air in front of her nose with enough force Ellis heard his knuckles pop.

  But he didn’t squeeze her head until her face became mush. No, he put a finger under her chin, and lifted it until she was looking into his scarred eye. “‘Kill the archduke, kill those people, don’t kill those people.’” he imitated her voice, almost in a mocking tone. “I behave like a slave for your little mission and you make it difficult. So sure. We’ll take her. But after that fuckstick of a duke is dead, I think we need to have a long, private conversation in that tent of yours.”

  Ameena’s jaw locked, and Helena started beating at Ameena’s arms as she squeezed her in closer.

  Michael took this as a positive sign for his affections, and rose to his full height before clapping his hands. “Thank god I said that, it’s been bothering me for days. I wanted to make it a bit more romantic, but you know… I got a bit tired of dancing around the topic just because you're shy.”

  He turned away from her and marched to the door, and gave Ellis a glance over his shoulder. “Ellis, you're going to drop that crossbow or I will beat you to death with it.”

  Ellis dropped the crossbow, and watched as Michael kicked down the door into an empty hallway decorated with jewels and purple patterns lining the white walls. Ameena did not try to follow. She did not let her hands loosen either, even when the child's face started growing purple, her attempts to escape that iron grip growing weaker.

  Making sure he was in Ameena’s line of sight, he walked up to her and gently pried her arms open. The child dropped to the floor and tried to crawl away, spluttering as she attempted to scream once again.

  Ellis got down on one knee and fished inside the pocket of his tunic, before hiding the item in his palm as he patted the girl’s back. “I’m sorry kiddo, I know this isn’t what you want, and I know you're scared. But I’m here, and I promise no one will hurt you.”

  The girl got off her hands and knees to face Ellis, hiccuping as she hyperventilated, her wide eyes locked onto him. He put on his best fake smile and hoped there was no blood in his teeth. “Hey, it’s okay! It’s okay. Look, we know each other don’t we?”

  She shook her head, and squeezed the teddy bear into her chest. He was covered in blood, of course she didn’t recognize him. Ellis looked to the ceiling, as if contemplating her reply before gesturing to her to get closer. She took one hesitant step toward him, so he took a look over his shoulder at Ameena, who watched on with tears in her eyes.

  He ignored that and whispered in Helena’s ear. “I know you. And I know your daddy is the captain of the guard, the mighty Ant Killer! Looky here, I even got your pine cone,” he said, opening his palm to show off her ‘finest’ pine cone.

  Her eyes somehow got wider, and she grabbed his hand before looking up at him. “Mr peasant sir!?”

  A snort escaped him, tears welling into the corner of his eyes as he looked down at her. “yeah, that’s me. Told you I know you. I’m gonna keep you safe, okay? Or die trying at least. I promise.”

  Helena still seemed hesitant, but she stole the pinecone out of his hand and nodded, before putting her arms around his neck. He hoisted her up and made for the door, but one glance at Ameena still standing there, rooted to the spot, was all he needed to see to make him stop.

  Michael called from the hallway, “What’s taking you so long!? Hurry up!” as Ellis walked over to Ameena.

  All his attention was on the door and the footsteps beyond it, but he made sure his eyes were locked onto Ameena’s as he came to a stop in front of her, the girl still dangling off of him. He gave the door one final glance over his shoulder, before he leaned in and whispered in Ameena’s ear.

  “That thing will not touch you today. Not in that way, or any other way for that matter. He and your father will die. We will make fucking sure of it.”

  He held out his hand. Her distant eyes took a moment, but then the usual Witch was standing before him, the scowl creeping into her expression with a newfound sense of hatred.

  She grasped his wrist and shook his hand, nodding toward Helena in the process. “And we will keep that one safe. Now let’s go kill those monsters.”