Lady Elizabeth Margaret Grey sits against a wall with her head resting on her knees pulled up against her chest, and her arms wrapped around them. She has dark circles around her eyes as if she hasn’t been sleeping well. Her clothes are in a rather shabby state, being heavily wrinkled and covered in dirt.

  There are the sounds of things being dragged about, as well as growls and snarls coming from all over the room that she is in. She tries her best to tune it out and ignore them. She can’t even remember how long she has been this way, and she doesn’t care to try.

  A dirty, dead rabbit hits the ground near where she is sitting. She jumps as the thud is so close to her, and she raises her head. Across from her, she sees the tall, skinny, slightly misshapen indigo creature is still there. It only has three toes on its weirdly large feet, but on its hands, it has three overly long fingers and a thumb. Its skin, while a deep indigo, is like melted wax or thick ooze.

  It tilts its head, looking at Elizabeth. Its face is mostly taken up by its overly large eye. Below that is a mouth full of large, sharp fangs. Oddly enough, it doesn’t seem to have hair or ears, just more of the weird, textured skin. Four spikes adorn its chin and jaw line; other than that, it is almost completely featureless. It doesn’t wear clothing revealing its genderless body.

  Behind the creature and to its sides stand seven horribly misshapen, indigo-tinted forms that might have been once human. Unlike the creature in front of her, they wear armor and clothing and even have a few weapons on their belts. They look like normal people if they weren’t so misshapen or if they didn't have the indigo tint to their skin.

  They look as if muscle or bone has suddenly grown and twisted, forming hunches or larger limbs. Their mouths hang open, drool dripping from them. Their eyes are a solid deep indigo; no iris or pupils can be seen. They meander around, bumping into things and each other. They regularly twist their necks and growl at each other or sometimes even at inanimate objects.

  Elizabeth looks at the rabbit at her feet for a moment before letting go of her legs and trying to stand up. She stumbles a little and falls against the wall. The creature doesn’t seem to like this and lets out a low growl, taking a step forward. She raises her hand at the creature, and it stops. She then moves over and picks up the dead rabbit. She half-carrys, half-drags it across the floor to a nook that isn’t too far away.

  A pile of rotting gore sits in one of the corners, and the remains of a burned-out fire in the center. She places the rabbit on a small table to the side and picks up a blood-stained knife. Much less elegantly and carefully than Max or Stephen, she proceeds to gut and skin the rabbit. All the organs and even the skin she throws into the pile on the other side of the nook.

  This is something the Lady Elizabeth of the past would never have done. Once the rabbit is completely skinned and gutted, she roughly shoves the thing onto a stick and leans it over the cold fire. There is no emotion on her face at all while she does these things. There is another thud near the entrance to the nook this time.

  She turns to find some pieces of wood that have been dropped, and the creature stands back a distance from them. She picks some up and places them in the fire pit, and goes back to the table, picking up a flint and steel. Kneeling next to the fire pit, she strikes them together repeatedly for a long time before she finally gets a fire started. She sighs, the first sign of emotion she has shown other than flinching when the creature drops something.

  Finished making the fire and preparing the rabbit, she walks towards the creature. It backs up moving to the same spot it was in when she opened her eyes. Seemingly following its example, she moves back to the spot she was sitting in and resumes holding her legs to her chest and resting her head upon her knees. Her mind begins to wander back to the past, to how she had ended up here.

  ? ? ?

  After Lady Elizabeth and Lady Rosalee reached Briargate, they had to wait for their families' soldiers to arrive before they could return home. Lady Elizabeth noticed during this time that Lady Rosalee seemed to be avoiding her, but she didn’t much mind. After everything they had been through, she also needed some space. The way Max and Lady Rosalee had treated her had been unacceptable, and towards the end of the trip, she had been furious.

  Now that they were somewhere safe and she wasn’t as scared of being bossed around, she started to reconsider her feelings. She knew that they had both done what they had felt was right and were trying to survive, but that didn’t completely excuse their actions. She felt bad for the way she had acted and how she had given up at times, even becoming a burden. Knowing this made it even more complicated for her. Instead of trying to work through these feelings or trying to repair things with Lady Rosalee, she chose to wander the town.

  The two guards assigned to her never spoke to her and simply followed a small distance away from her at all times. She mostly wandered through any areas with shops or vendors. Most of the things she found in the town, she couldn’t help but find poor or shoddy. Once in a long while, she might find something small that caught her interest and would motion one of the guards over, who would pay the vendor for her.

  The mayor had taken it upon himself to make sure that her needs were met, knowing that her family would, in turn, take care of him for his actions. The only thing that she found that she was even halfway happy with was a dress that got her out of those rags the mayor had provided for her. Of course, they weren’t rags but a simple, plain dress similar to the one he had given to Lady Rosalee.

  Lady Elizabeth never bumped into Lady Rosalee on her shopping adventures or even in the eatery that the mayor had suggested to them. She had no idea what Lady Rosalee was about at this time and just pushed any thought of her out of her head. The town felt very dirty and poor to Lady Elizabeth, and she couldn’t wait for her escort to arrive. She never talked to anyone or even went anywhere near the gates. She managed to fill her time spending the mayor's coin as though it were simple water.

  Finally, her family’s guard arrived to escort her home. She thanked the mayor for his hospitality and informed the leader of the escort that they would be leaving immediately. With that, her time at Briargate had come to an end, and the journey back to The Terrace began.

  It seemed as though it would never end, so she spent most of her time either looking out the window of the carriage or sleeping. The trip was uneventful in every way; no creature or beast would be foolish enough to mess with the large number of loud soldiers as they made their way down the road. Bandits steered clear as well. Even if whatever or whoever was inside the carriage was valuable, it wasn’t worth their lives.

  Returning home to The Terrace was a joyous occasion for Lady Elizabeth. She could finally get into proper clothes again. Once dressed, she resumed her life much as if nothing had happened prior, with only one small change. Before, her lessons had been held in a small estate outside of the city proper, and now, they took place inside her own estate. Traveling to and from the estate outside the city had always been a pain for Lady Elizabeth, who preferred the fine restaurants and shops in the city.

  When they had classes at the estate outside, she had been forced to stay with the other girls there, who were only acceptably impolite to her, as none of them could openly show their feelings for her. She had been an outsider and disliked by everyone other than Lady Rosalee, but didn’t care. Whether they liked her or not, they had to show her the proper respect her family was owed, so they all still did whatever she said. Now, with her lessons being in her own estate, she wouldn’t have to put up with those other girls or be forced to go without the city comforts.

  More than a year passed before she had even a passing thought about Lady Rosalee. It wasn’t until dinner one night with her parents that she overheard her father mention that Ashbury had joined the war against the Asad Caliphate. She paused for a moment, considering trying to contact her old friend, but came to the conclusion she really didn’t care and stopped listening. They still had not spoken since they had arrived at Briargate more than a year prior.

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  Several more months passed just as they had always had. Lady Elizabeth walked down the halls of her house and, while passing by her father’s study, overheard him speaking to someone.

  “Are you sure about this? What this means for all of the Weald?” Duke Grey asked

  “I am sure, your grace.” A male voice that she cannot see replied.

  “If the Order of Eschaton is after Elizabeth and the Braye child, there is only one meaning for it.” Duke Grey slammed his fist onto his desk, making a loud bang.

  “What do you command your grace? If the king were to find out about this, you know the order that he would give. It won’t matter whose child they are; he would not be swayed.” The hidden man's voice seemed worried.

  “We keep it quiet for now. Elizabeth will be sent to Zenith Stronghold.” Duke Grey grew quiet, the anger vanishing.

  “Zenith Stronghold?" The man paused, hesitating. "But, your grace, that fort hasn’t been used in ages.”

  “I know, we will have to send an advanced party to secure it. They will take with them anything that is needed to verify its integrity and fortify any defects they find. It is our only option. Once they have it up and running, she will be escorted there. We have two of our regiments tied down already with what is happening in the South and in the West."

  "The last one we have here with us at The Terrace. We will take three of the best platoons we have remaining and have them form a company to be her escort. The hundred and fifty men should easily be able to defend Zenith Stronghold against almost any force, especially with the advanced party reinforcing them.” Duke Grey points several times at a map on his desk.

  “And the Braye girl?” The man asked.

  Duke Grey sighed and faced the man. “Send word that I request a meeting. They are at war with the Asad Caliphate, so they will most likely refuse. We cannot risk anyone finding out about this, so we cannot have the messenger tell them what the meeting is about."

  "The Brayes have always been a stubborn, arrogant lot. I have a feeling even if they did decide to meet with us, they would decline an invitation to send their daughter to Zenith Stronghold anyway. Much like they did straight after the kidnapping, they will want to keep her close, thinking they can shield against any threats. The fools.”

  Lady Elizabeth heard them start to get up and move around the study, so she quickly moved away toward other parts of the house. I am being sent away? Why? I don’t want to go! I want to stay here! Father will never listen; he always does whatever he wants!

  Who is this Eschaton that got him so worked up? Why do they want me and Lady Rosalee? Are they the ones who had us kidnapped? Are they not afraid of what might happen to them? Why doesn’t father just send his men and wipe them out?

  While not usually the smartest or bravest child, Lady Elizabeth could be resourceful and industrious when she felt like it. Whenever she could steal away unnoticed, she would sneak into her father’s study or their family library and try to find any mention of this Eschaton group. She found that her efforts were in vain. That no matter how hard she looked, she didn’t find anything related to the name.

  She figured that she must not be looking in the right places; either they had no information about them, or they were related to something she wasn’t aware of, and would be found under that topic. Still, she was not one to give in easily if she set her mind to something, so she dared steal the keys from her father's desk and used them to get into some of the locked shelves in the library.

  Even this did not lead her to the answers she was looking for, but when looking through the books, an idea occurred to her. I might not be able to find out who they are or why they want us, but maybe… She tentatively pulled a book out and turned it over. I’m not a barbarian like Max or some skilled fighter like my father, but with this, maybe I can protect myself.

  ? ? ?

  Lady Elizabeth shudders when she thinks of the book and looks forward at the creature in front of her. She had just wanted a way to defend herself; she hadn’t expected things to turn out the way they did. When the group of men with that woman leading them broke into Zenith Stronghold, she had simply panicked.

  They had somehow gotten past all the guards, and near her bedchambers, a fight had broken out, and they killed the few men who were this deep in the hold that looked after her, except for Ioan. He had tried to protect her and get her out to the main force. Her eyes move to one of the creatures shuffling about, who is wearing plate mail and cannot help but tear up.

  ? ? ?

  She had been studying the book for months while they got Zenith Stronghold set up for her and transported her there. She was afraid to actually try anything that was in the book, but when they had broken in, and all that remained was Ioan, she felt it was finally worth the risk. During the attack, she had found the page that held the most powerful ritual she had read about so far.

  Chanting the ritual, she lit the candle that was on the table near her and sliced her hand on the fruit knife near the basket of fruit she kept. As she came to the end of the spell and shouted the last word, the woman leading the group against the hold let out a scream as if she had been burned, and a crystal pendant she wore had flown at Lady Elizabeth and embedded itself in her chest.

  ? ? ?

  Looking down, Lady touches the crystal that is still embedded in her chest. The creature makes a sound and tilts its head when she does. She quickly pulls her hands away from it and clenches them by her sides, and glares at the creature.

  You weren’t supposed to come! I didn’t ask for you! I just wanted something to save me, to protect me! Why did you have to come! She grabs the sides of her head and begins to sob into her knees again. The creature tilts its head back and forth, moving slightly closer, letting out all kinds of distressed noises.

  ? ? ?

  When Lady Elizabeth had said that final word and the crystal had struck her, an Indigo mist had risen out of it and slowly taken on the form of the creature that was now in front of her. It had wasted no time in slaughtering Ioan and her attackers. The woman had screamed something at her men and fled the moment she saw the mist; either they hadn’t heard or didn’t listen, and now they were shambling around the room just as misshapen as Ioan.

  Lady Elizabeth had watched in horror as the creature had killed them. After each kill, it would rip off one of its fingers and jam it into the base of the skull of its victim before its finger would regrow. It didn’t take long for the victim to soon rise, mutating into one of the misshapen men.

  They seemed to follow the creature's will and helped it kill everyone else at Zenith Stronghold. She had only been able to watch from a balcony as the soldiers were slaughtered by their downed allies and the creature. Once she was the only other living thing in the hold, it had returned. She had been terrified and tried to hide, but the creature just stood near her at all times, no matter where she went.

  After a long time, she got brave enough to try to move around, and it just followed her. When she tried to leave this floor, it got angry and agitated. She decided it was best to just stay. She had curled up and cried for what seemed like days.

  The creature never left, just stood there staring at her. The things that it made seemed to wander around the area where they were turned if the creature didn’t make them follow it. She is pretty sure both the creature and the other things would be aggressive to anyone else, but because it sees her as its summoner, she is protected.

  She had wound up getting hungrier than she had ever been before, and the creature had vanished, though the mutated corpse monsters still shambled about. It wasn’t gone for very long before it had thrown the first rabbit at her. She had kicked it away in disgust, and the creature seemed confused. As her hunger grew and she refused to eat, eventually the creature had tried to force her to eat the uncooked, unskinned dead rabbit.

  It wasn’t an experience she ever wanted to face again. Now, if it threw something at her, she would show an effort to cook it. The creature would just watch. Once she ate something, it seemed to relax a bit more. If she needed anything, like the wood for the fire earlier, the creature would either bring it itself or have one of the mutant monsters bring it to her.

  She had been tempted to look for where the book had gotten off to, but was afraid of what the creature might do. The book could be seen as a threat since there might be a way to unsummon it there. She never tried because of the way it reacted whenever she touched the crystal in her chest. She didn’t know if it was just excited, curious, or trying to warn her, but she preferred it when it just stood there to when it started making noises while approaching her.

  There were also the mutant monsters to worry about. If she did manage to unsummon the beast, then what? Would they vanish? Die? Without the creature’s influence, would they stay the same, or would they become aggressive like they were to the soldiers? She really didn’t want to find out. She just prayed that eventually her father would notice something was wrong and send someone to save her.

  So, she did nothing but sit there and cry until she ran out of tears. If she got tired enough, she might lie down in the same spot she was sitting in so nothing could get behind her and to not upset the creature by wandering around or leaving the room. If it brought her food, she would try her best to make it at least semi-edible before choking some of it down so it would leave her alone again. Please father! Save me! Please… help me.