Trapped.

Blood clung to her arms, bodies lay scattered, ruins fell, and fires raged. Soldiers trampled by her, roughly restraining her arms and legs. She kicked and stomped and bit, but they did not release their metallic hold. Looking into their eyes, they held no expression. They simply reflected the blood pooling on the ground.

Trapped…

Edge gasped awake, eyes shooting open. Her blood was racing through her limbs, eyes reeling to get a hold on the situation. The soldiers! They had her! She needed to get out, to run. Anywhere, just as long as it was away from here.

Edge thrashed, but was too weak to sit up fully. The room was warm and humid, and smelled faintly of flowers. Cold hands gripped her, forcing her back down onto something soft.

Something soft…

A bed. She was lying on a bed.

The mist coating her eyes faded, and she could finally recognize the faces staring down at her. Kalmar, Elias, and Kilah. Only Liora wasn’t there; she still had her face buried in the pillow the next bed over. Kalmar was the one with his hands wrapped around her arms, but they were shaking so badly that they held no force.

“Edge!” Elias squeaked, wringing his hands together. “I thought, well, uhm, I thought…”

He didn’t complete that sentence.

“We’re glad you’re awake,” Kilah finished for him, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I—” Edge grappled for words. Her throat felt dry and swollen, and a familiar headache battled steadily behind her eyes. When she tried to force her leg to move, it barely slid an inch across the soft bedsheets.

What had happened to her?

Kalmar slowly released his grip, exhaling as he did so. “Are you okay? That was something of an epic passing out.”

“Yeah, I’m…” Edge swallowed and tried again. “It’s okay.”

Now that she was fully awake, however, the events from only moments ago were replaying. Her mind was spinning with the gravity of it all. Who was Aldric, truly? What was his purpose for telling her what he did?

And, most importantly, what was she going to do about it? When Rose asked whatever she was going to ask, was she going to say no and agree to Aldric’s deal? Or say yes to Rose? Who did she trust better?

Well, the truth was, she didn’t trust either of them.

Deep breaths, she reminded herself, forcing the thoughts away. I’ll deal with that later. Right now, I have my team.

Sure enough, they were all bombarding her with questions about what had happened and how she was feeling. By the end of it, all she could come up with to say was: “I must have slipped and knocked myself out,” and a repeated chorus of “I’m fine.”

When the group finally dissipated and left her be (Liora was finally awake now, but she couldn’t care less), Edge managed to slip out of the crowded room and into the bathroom that was connected.

Sinking into a chair beside the sink, Edge finally let herself breathe. She took in the sights of the fancy room—silver walls and flooring; the bathtub, toilet, and sink were all gold, everything scaled to an enormous size—before closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they locked onto a mirror directly on the wall in front of her. Staring at the reflection, she barely recognized the girl staring back. Dark circles swallowed her eyes, more than usual, and her usually straight hair was lost in a chaotic tangle of what now looked like frayed wire. Her pale skin was somehow more pale than it had been just days before.

She glanced at the sink, noticing the lack of handles or switches. Everything in this place—the lights, the water, even the heat—answered only to spoken commands. She wasn’t sure whether it was magic or just technology she didn’t understand, but the absence of anything familiar made her feel even more out of place.

Eyes burning from the bright room, Edge stood up and walked to the sink, ready to wash the memories away. By this time, the bathtub was calling her name. She hadn’t even seen so much water in the last two days, and her hot and sweaty body was begging to be washed.

After a not-so-quick shower (the water felt cleaner than anything on Earth ever did), Edge once again stood in front of the mirror. Her old clothes were back on, but even the thick material was full of holes and frays. She did the best she could with her hair; fortunately, there was a hairbrush sitting on the counter. By the end of it all, she looked mostly back to her normal self. Well, as normal as she could be after everything that had happened.

Sighing, Edge hesitated a moment before opening the door. The solitude had been nice, away from the judging stares of her teammates and the murderous ones of her foes. In there, all her problems were of no importance. But as soon as she went back out, they would emerge again.

Still…she had to face them at some point. She couldn’t just hide in the bathroom forever.

Without looking back, she threw the bathroom door open and walked out. Everyone avoided her gaze, except for Kalmar. He slowly walked over, eyebrows still scrunched together with concern.

“I know there’s something up,” He leaned over and whispered to her. She gave him a brief, yet grateful, nod, acknowledging the fact that he chose to keep this conversation quiet.

“Does it matter?”

His hand inched towards hers, gripping it tightly. She didn’t pull away, only stared into his eyes. They looked so innocent, so young. She didn’t see any of the hardness that she saw in hers. How nice it would be to be so ignorant again.

“I’m not all jokes,” His eyes flicked away. “I notice stuff too. I know you didn’t just fall and hit your head today. Something happened. What?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“No?”

“I can’t tell you,” Edge hesitated a moment before adding. “I’m sorry.”

“We’re a team. You’re supposed to tell us these thi—”

Kalmar was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Everyone looked over in unison as the door swung open. Edge wasn’t surprised to see Rose standing there, arms laden with huge bundles of clothing. She stumbled in a few steps, almost tripping on an unseen object on the floor.

“Oh, here…” Kilah ran over to her, gently taking half of the clothing pile from Rose’s arms and setting them on the table. Rose did the same, giving Kilah a warm smile.

“Thank you, Kilah.” Rose turned to look at everyone in the room. Her eyes stayed a second longer on Edge, and she fought the urge to squirm. “I brought you all a new change of clothes, since I have noticed this is needed. There’s no outfit for a particular person, since I have not received your measurements. So, pick and choose. The boys get the suits, and the girls get the dresses, obviously.”

“Dresses?” Liora perked up at that, and, at the same time, Edge’s heart sank. “I haven’t worn a dress in forever!”

Rose continued. “After everyone is ready, you all may meet me in the dining hall for breakfast. We have much to discuss.”

“We do,” Edge responded immediately, eyes narrowing.

Rose glanced over, eyes also narrowing. “Is there something you wish to say, Edge?”

A beat.

“Nothing.”

Rose nodded, waited to see if anyone had anything else to say, then strode out of the room. The door closed with a soft click behind her.

Immediately, Liora bounded towards the bundle of clothes, digging through it for a second before pulling out a golden dress with silver trim along the bottom. She squealed, yelling out in delight, “This is so pretty!” before running towards the bathroom and slamming the door behind her.

Kilah laughed, eyes lingering on the bathroom door for a moment. Shrugging, she grabbed a forest green dress and headed out the door to the hallway.

And then it was just Edge and the boys.

“I won’t look at you,” Edge sighed, noticing the way they were both staring at her.

Kalmar glanced towards the pile. “What about you? Aren’t you grabbing yours?”

“No,” Edge scoffed, even though her own clothes were sweaty and torn. There was no way she was wearing a dress.

She turned around, and the boys took that as their cue. She heard fabric rustling as they rushed to change into their polished suits. To pass the time, Edge stepped closer to the wall to study the paintings hung on it. They were mostly what she expected—scenic views, castle paintings, horses and their riders—but one in particular caught her eye. It was of a boy, around sixteen years of age, standing in front of a throne. He was wearing royal robes and adornments, a large smile plastered on his face.

The more she studied it, the more familiarity tugged at her mind. Those eyes, they reminded her of something…

“We’re done now,” Kalmar announced, tapping her on the shoulder. Edge flinched, and he quickly jerked his hand away, smiling sheepishly when she turned around. “Sorry…”

She didn’t respond, but instead glanced at their outfits. Elias was wearing a dark blue suit with black dress pants to match. He fidgeted anxiously, looking like a burglar in someone else’s clothes. Kalmar, on the other hand, seemed perfectly relaxed, as always. His suit was flame red and fit him perfectly.

“This isn’t too big, right?” Elias asked, glancing at himself in the mirror.

“You’re fine, dude,” Kalmar joined him by the mirror, straightening out an invisible wrinkle on his sleeve.

“Are you two not done yet?” Liora emerged from the bathroom. Her hair was now in two braids at the side of her head, and her dress reflected the light as she moved.

Kalmar ran his hand through his hair. “It takes a lot of time to look this good.”

“So, what? You’ll need a million years before you can ever show your face in public, let alone look ‘good’.” Liora sank down onto her bed.

Kalmar spun around to face Kilah, who had just re-entered the room. “You! How do you think I look?”

“Uh—” Kilah glanced uncomfortably down at his suit, wrinkles creasing her forehead. “Why…why do you ask?”

Kalmar crossed his arms defiantly. “Liora said I wasn’t even presentable.”

“Oh…” Kilah sighed, drawing out the word. She looked relieved that that’s why he asked. “I’m not getting in the middle of this, sorry.”

In desperation, Kalmar reeled on Edge. “You must have an answer!”

She shrugged, studying him again. Mainly to make him stand there, squirming in his fancy outfit. In her opinion, he didn’t look half-bad, but there was no way she was telling him that. Instead, she just averted her gaze and said, “I don’t care, Kalmar.”

Besides, there were more important things to think about. Edge still had no idea what to say to Rose anymore, and she was just moments away from their big conversation.

She had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well.

“Where’s your dress, Edge?” Kilah asked.

Edge closed her eyes, imagining the tightness in her chest, the short sleeves, the skirt that she would trip over every two seconds, and confidently said, “It’s not happening.”

Kilah opened her mouth to argue, but Edge held up a hand and silenced her. “We should go. Rose is waiting.”

“That’s true,” Elias agreed. “We kind of agreed to.”

“Okay, but, hello!” Liora tapped her fingers on the bedpost, her eyes darting from one person to the next. “Where exactly is said dining room or hall or whatever?”

The room fell silent for a second. Then, Kalmar started to say something, but Edge let herself drift away into the shadows, an experience that was becoming all the more familiar. Part of her wondered if she could use her powers for something other than creepy shadows and mind readings. Closing her eyes, she whispered Rose’s name and waited.

Nothing.

So, she tried adding images to the mix. Words. Even a few brief glimmers of the thoughts she had managed to pull from Rose’s head. The shadows slowed their eerie movements, listening and watching the scenes Edge was showing them. Eventually, they crept their way through the castle halls, slipping under doors, around staircases, and even revealing hidden exits. Edge’s stomach turned with each twist and hesitation, but the shadows didn’t disappoint. They led her directly into a huge room, which she assumed was the dining room, and right up to Rose. She saw a hazy image of the princess, sitting at the huge table, waiting impatiently for her guests to arrive.

“I see it,” Edge whispered, fighting to keep herself conscious, but also aware of the shadow’s instructions. She jerked upright, suddenly aware of every twist and turn needed to take everyone to the dining hall.

“You see what?” Liora snorted.

Instead of responding, Edge made her way over to the door, not even sure if she was controlling her body, or the shadows were. Hesitating, she felt her mouth move, and words flow out.

“Rose is waiting.”