Iris didn't know how she found herself lurking in the narrow, underground passageway, her dress already dusty and stained. She wasn't sure how much time even passed as she noted the passageway slowly incline, only that she kept a slow and steady pace, careful to keep quiet.

Back at the ball, she had noticed Trevet leaving by a side exit, slipping away from the party. She hadn't even known he had been at the party until she saw a familiar, green uniformed man, tall and standing against the wall, the letters BP imprinted in black on his olive jacket.

And now, here she was, having a Deja vu moment from the last time she had followed Al the Border Patrol man to the land above. Now, she found herself curiously – admittedly, a little suspiciously – following Trevet through a similar passage. She hadn't seen much of him since he had been punished to two weeks of full-time patrolling – whatever 'full-time' meant on this planet. Her talks with Trevet had been reduced to almost nothing since he first brought her here, and as far as she was aware, not even Jade had seen nor spoken much to him since the week prior. She wanted to be able to trust Trevet. She felt he was the only one she could in the beginning, and she needed someone on the inside to help her in her 'rescuing Grandpa Sage mission'. So, ideally, it would be great to rely on a Terran who didn't seem selfish like Jasper, and that was in a fairly useful position to possibly aid them in their quest. But she wouldn't risk revealing her intentions to Trevet yet. She needed to push her optimistic, hopeful naivety to the side and see if Trevet really could be trusted to help, with her own two eyes – or if he was as bad as Jasper, or worse.

Either way, she had made a silent promise to help Braedon tonight at the ball. She'd find that damned district where they were keeping his grandpa captured, even if it took her weeks. She didn't care. She made a promise not just to him, but to her sister. And she intended to keep her word. She might have lost all these delights and delicacies growing up on the streets instead of in a royal castle, but one thing she kept was her word, always. It mattered aboce anything else, Tyrone had taught her. She was in control of the promises she made, the promises she broke. She hadn't broken a single one so far in her life, and she didn't intent to lose that streak now.

Iris halted for a moment, listening for his footsteps, which sounded very faint and far, before she continued along, grateful once again that she had picked flats for this event and not high heels, or she would have certainly twisted an ankle by now.

Iris stopped again when she heard the sound of creaking wood and then... nothing. She hurried up the remaining, dark passage until she came face to face with a wooden ladder. Careful not to slip on the fabric of her dress, she slowly hoisted herself up until she had made it to solid ground. She pushed herself up, her golden dress scraping the dirt floor, and Iris swivelled around herself in confusion, feeling the bark that enveloped her. Iris's fingers pressed against a particular spot, and the bark fell outwards, leaving a gaping hole, big enough for someone to crawl through.

She did so and was soon met with a cold breeze that hit her exposed skin, the night air crisply fresh. She quickly stood up, shivering slightly as she breathed in the open air. Out at last.

She glanced back at where she had emerged from, eyebrows raised. It was brilliant. The Terrans had made one of their secret passageways carved from within a fake, hollow tree. Had they built it with magic?

She felt the smooth bark, placing the door-like piece back into its spot where it had fallen out. It certainly looked and felt real.

Iris glanced at her surroundings, only to realise that she was at the end of the forest. The trees behind her were the last few remaining before opening up to a wide, mossy green clearing, a few short trees and shrubs beyond, sunken into clear water.

The spring stretched far and wide, beyond a bend and out of eyesight, and Iris walked towards it, her footsteps seemed ominously loud in the quiet air, fallen dried leaves crunching beneath her shoes.

Iris knitted her eyebrows together in anxious thought, suddenly remembering Trevet. Where had he disappeared to? And where was she?

Iris was getting the sinking feeling that if they had reached the end of the forest and were far from the dried-up river they had walked alongside the first day she had arrived in Caedus, then they were no longer near the Terra District. In fact, she was getting the sensation that she was probably lingering near another district's territory.

Iris slowly stepped out from amongst the cover of the trees, watching the half crescent moon reflecting on the clear water below, not a ripple of disturbance. Not a night creature appeared to be in sight, no noise other than the occasional wind that blew past her ears and sent small goose-bumps up her arms.

Where had he gone? There was nowhere to hide.

Something in the water caught Iris's eye, and she moved close to it, watching the dark waters under what little light the moon offered. The sky was also partly cloudy, covering most stars, and each time the wind shifted, the light that reflected on the water seemed to flicker.

Iris crouched, her fingers stretching towards the waters' banks, and then...

"Ouch!" she hissed, almost falling backwards.

She gripped her wrist tightly, her fingers throbbing and already leaving burns where they had grazed the boiling waterfront.

"What the hell?" she whispered, gazing at the spring.

It didn't look hot. It seemed calm and undisturbed. No steam rose from the water either. Iris frowned, standing back up, but just as she went to turn, she felt two hands grip her shoulders, forcing her around.

Two unfamiliar eyes stared back at her in the dark, a tall man with an oddly-cut moustache who looked to be in his thirties.

"What are you doing out here at this hour?" he barked. "Go on."

To her horror, he began to roughly shove her toward the seemingly calm water, and Iris struggled back.

"What the hell?" she yelled. "That thing is boiling!"

He stopped abruptly, holding up one of her hands for inspection before stepping back cautiously, his eyes lingering on her burns.

"Where are you from?"

Iris knew by his blue uniform and suspicious gaze that he wouldn't like either answer: Earth or the Terra District. So, wordlessly and before he could spot the mark on her arm, she broke into a sprint. Iris only lasted a few seconds before she slipped on a pile of dried leaves, and suddenly, the man was yanking her by her hair, dragging her towards the waterfront once more.

"Let go of me!" Iris screeched, tears springing to her eyes as she felt her hair being pulled from her scalp.

He continued marching towards the spring, and she dug her heels into the dirt below scratching at his legs, trying to slow him down. He began to shove her headfirst towards the water, and the ends of her hair fizzled as they swept the water's surface.

"Burn in hell with the rest of your kind," the man growled, and Iris let out a yelp as he placed a booted foot on her chest, and she struggled to press against it, keeping her head up and away from the boiling spring.

Then, suddenly, the weight on her chest lifted, and the man fell onto the ground next to her with a loud thump.

She inhaled sharply, breathing in the sweet, cool air. Iris scrambled backwards and away from the spring. She halted as her back hit a solid object, and when she looked back, she realised it was a pair of legs. Her eyes wandered up to the face staring down at her and she almost let out a sigh of relief at seeing Trevet.

But then she noticed the man standing next to Trevet, dressed in a blue suit, and her heart skipped a beat as the two males exchanged a glance. Iris noticed her captor, unconscious and sprawled out on the dirt, and Iris had only just opened her mouth to speak when Trevet held up a long, narrow gun, pointing it towards her.

"I'm sorry, Iris," he said apologetically, eyes wide. "But you never should have followed me."

Then he pulled the trigger, firing it directly towards her.