"Wakey, Wakey, Princess," a voice echoed in my ears. I felt my body twitch until my eyes fluttered open.

I acknowledged the damp ground below me, heaving a little as I pushed my body up until sitting upright. My vision was blurry but I tried gathering the sights around me. I made out a horde of shadowy figures standing in smaller groups around me. I glanced up, meeting the cold and eerie gaze of a gruff looking old man in black robes.

He reached towards me, gripping me tightly around the throat. I coughed, trying to push myself away from him but to no avail.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" I heard a hoarse voice roaring through the sky. I was able to swivel my head just enough to catch sight of the voice's owner. Judar was propped up between two thuggish looking men, battered with blood dripping down his temple.

(Judar? What's going on?? What have they done to you??)

The blood in my body began to run hot at the sight of him so badly injured. I reached for the sword on my hip but soon took notice that it was gone.

"No metal vessel, Princess?" the man taunted, his fingers gripping my windpipe even tighter. I clenched at his arm, struggling to break free of his grasp.

"Ken-na," I grunted, locking my fingers around the man's arm. Fire swirled up his biceps, spreading furiously over the rest of his body until nothing remained besides his charred bones.

I fell to my knees, coughing as I gasped to catch my breath. I could feel the tension rising in the swarm of men around us as their horrified gazes all landed on me.

I glanced back at Judar, and he gave me a short nod. Before anyone could stir, Judar had elbowed one of the men next to him and shot the other clear across the alley. I bounded towards him, fully tackling the next man who readied to attack him. A familiar ferocity overcame me as I swept through the crowd of enemies swiftly. I used Kenna's flames now and then to aid me in the battle, setting aflame anyone who dared step to close.

Half the men had either died or run away by the time I stopped to catch my breath. I turned to face Judar, noticing how hard he was struggling just to stay upright. I nestled into his side, pulling him closer so that he was leaning on me for support.

"Are you alright?" I asked quietly, wiping the blood from his face with the sleeve of my dress.

"I'll be fine. You saved our asses, you know," he chuckled, his voice strained.

(Geez, even when you're hurt, you still insist on joking around.)

By then, the men who stayed to fight were closing in on us.

"Stay put," I said, shuffling him gently behind me.

His voice was a little distraught now as he refuted quietly, "Why are you still fighting? I figured you'd be happy to let me die here."

I thought about his words for a brief moment, placing myself between the oncoming enemies and Judar. I bit my lip lightly before answering him in a semi bitter tone, "Because I know exactly how I feel about you and nothing in this world could ever make it change." Judar's eyes widened as I glanced back at him from the corner of my eye, "So I will protect you no matter the cost."

Judar looked slightly stunned by my words, composing himself only after I'd stepped away from him. He watched quietly as I slayed each round of enemies that threw themselves at me.

---

After the last enemy had fallen, I waddled back over to Judar. I extended my hand out towards him, pulling him up from the ground.

"Where is my other weapon?" I asked.

"One of these idiots probably took it and ran," he said, leaning onto my shoulder as he stumbled along beside me.

I was quiet for a moment as I contemplated how I'd get it back. "What about Sinbad? What happened at his palace and why was I unconscious?" I questioned.

Judar grunted, "Geez, all these questions. He knocked you out using one of his magic toys. He said it was fairly easy too since you were low on magoi to begin with."

"What? I've gotten fairly good at keeping track of my usage though and I know I didn't use that much while I was- Um," I said, my words trailing off into embarrassment.

"Trying to murder me? Yeah, I remember," he said bitterly. "If I had to guess anything, I'd say a great amount of your magoi goes towards making you look like your original self rather than that girl I picked up out of the valley," he explained.

(That's right. This still isn't really my body even though I look like myself.)

I faltered a bit, grieving over the fact that part of my magoi was being expended for cosmetic reasons over other things. Just then, a feint rustling sounded from nearby. I caught sight of a familiar golden shimmer.

(My metal vessel!)

My eyes traveled up to it's holder and I was intrigued to find a small boy, no older than 14, wielding it with fear in his eyes.

"A child?" I mumbled. My insides churned as a throng of people in tattered rags approached from behind him. Each person present had an oddly shaped weapon, similar to the one's I'd seen when I was attacked during the Sindrian festival.

"Can you fight children?" Judar asked, his tone serious.

"I can," was all I said. Before he could say anything else, I sprinted for the crowd. Kicking off the wall of a nearby building, I launched myself over them, setting the people below into a fiery abyss by using Kenna's flame.

I was all but pleased with my work until a sharp pain spread through the right side of my body. One of the people had escaped my attack and plunged his dark weapon into my shoulder.I could feel the energy seeping from my body as black Rukh fluttered from the weapon.

"Mei!" Judar rushed towards me, pushing my attacker to the ground and pulling the dark blade from my skin.

"I-I'm so sorry," the man stammered, fear painting his expression.

(He apologized?)

"We're mere beggars from the slums and when the Kou Empire offered a high reward for their missing princess,-- the man continued in a shaky voice.

My arm was pulsating and the veins beneath my skin were dyed a deep purple.

"How bad is it?" Judar asked, quickly inspecting the wound.

"It's fine," I said, gritting my teeth to hide how badly it actually hurt. I shook free from his grasp and stammered towards the child holding my sword. He stood, frozen in fear, as I pulled my sword from his small hands. "Never take things that aren't yours," I said in a low tone. I hobbled back to Judar's side, my fingers clenching around the wound on my shoulder.

"Very good, Princess!" a voice rang out. I glanced up towards the top of the nearest building, only to see a group of men in flowing black robes. "Your mother raised quite a fighter! You struck down so many helpless people with such ease," the man scoffed.

"What a monster," another man hissed, his robes swaying as his face twisted into a sadistic smile.

(Al Tharmen... )

I gripped my sword, stepping forward for another fight but my arm wasn't holding up. The right side of my body had drooped down and I couldn't bring myself to stand completely up anymore.

I pushed myself despite my poor condition, but was quickly pulled backwards. Judar stepped in front of me, bringing his face down so that our eyes were level. "You're hurt, stay back," he said, his voice frantic.

(But you're hurt even worse than I am!)

"N-no!" I started but Judar's arms snaked around my waist and his lips pressed against my forehead in a tender kiss.

"Stop being so stubborn," he said, his voice nothing more than a hoarse whisper, warm against my flushed skin. I remained in my daze, watching him tread towards Al Tharmen.

Judar's wand spun between his fingers as he faced the group of Al Tharmen officials. "I wondered when you old bastards were gonna join in on the fun," he taunted.

The battle had just begun when the remaining civilians dropped their dark weapons and scattered through the alley. Debris littered the area, fire scattered across the streets, and icicles of giant proportions pierced the scenery all around. Despite his injuries, Judar was holding his own against Al Tharmen.

Just when I thought the battle had been decided, one of the civilians from before hastily approached Judar.

(What is he doing? He's- Oh!)

"Judar!" I screamed his name, stumbling to my feet and throwing myself in his direction. Judar had turned just in time to meet a fatal blow to the head with a dark metal vessel. The man who'd hit him watched with wide eyes as Judar's body sank to the ground.

"I-I did it!" the man exclaimed. "Where is the reward money?" he asked, looking up at the remaining members of Al Tharmen. "I need to feed my children, where is the reward?"

"Heh, you scum are so easily manipulated," one of the members sneered, casting his staff towards the man. Black Rukh swarmed from his staff, creating a cloud around Judar's attacker. From inside the veil of darkness, I could hear the man's agonized screams.

"Now, to take care of the Magi," one of the other members said. Before I could move, one of the members was already hovering over Judar, slinging him over his shoulder. He carried him over a ways before reaching a bridge high over a river valley. I limped as quickly as my body would take me, only reaching the bridge in time to see the man hauling Judar's unconscious body over the railing.

"Judar!" I screamed. My mind was a flurry of panic and anger as I gathered up my sword with my left hand, slashing the assailant's throat in a clean swipe. I didn't even wait to see if I'd killed him before I flung myself over the railing as well. My body soared towards the bottom of the valley at such a high speed that I was having trouble breathing. It'd only been a short moment but it felt like a small century had passed before I reached Judar. I squeezed my arms around his body, pulling him into my chest as we continued falling.

(There's a river at the bottom of all this! If I can just-)

I pointed my blade towards the river below, watching it grow closer and closer as we both neared death.

"Aleia!" I commanded her power, creating a barrier of water around Judar and I. For the time being, it was all I could manage with so little Magoi. I prayed for the best as my water shield splashed against the river current.