"There may be a way out, Your Majesty. But, pardon my bluntness, I don't really see the point," The soldier fidgeted as he finished. "Anyone you send would only prolong the inevitable."

Her blue eyes looked almost green in the eerie, yellow glow caused by the shield outside. He gulped, even as he warned his body to appear calm. She smiled. "Thank you for your report and your advice. You are right; we are probably only delaying the inevitable, but I still have to try."

She nodded for his dismissal so he saluted smartly and turned sharply toward the door, swallowing another gulp. "Thank you again, Reginald."

He saluted again before closing the door behind him, awe replacing his nervousness.

She knew his name.

She waited for the darkness to fall. Not that it made much difference with the shield. Just five days ago, the yellow barrier suddenly encased the castle. Any who tried to remove it or even touch it were struck; the doctor would later report that they were doing well but had similar symptoms to those who had been struck by lightning. This flummoxed everyone.

Everyone except her.

It was magic. Even worse, it was dark magic; and though she'd never met him in this lifetime, she knew who was behind this. Which is why she ordered her men to find a way out. And so they had.

Beneath the palace, in the sewers, the shield seemed weaker. While it still kept them from escaping, the yellow glow no longer zapped them with magic and dented slightly when spears struck it. Her men then tried bombing it but to no avail. She had another idea though.

Magic. She hadn't used it since she was a young girl, but as she pulled the magic from her heart down her arm and into her fingers, she laughed at the ease with which the blue sparks flashed from her hands. Like riding a horse.

Now if she could just remember— there we go. Her dark hair slowly turned white, her eyes red. Finally, her skin turned brown and her curves flattened. She was ready.

The sparks sounded as frustrated as she felt. She couldn't recall anything she studied about breaking magical barriers. Blue. Yellow. Suddenly they turned green.

She groaned and banged her hand against the wall. A dent. She banged again. A bigger dent.

This time she stirred up all her magic in her left hand and smashed said hand through the wall. More dents.

Dents were stupid; they gave one hope so she kept trying, but in the end…her actions were futile. Blue still sparked from her hand as she leaned against the wall in defeat. The air shifted suddenly, and she felt like she was falling. After catching herself from face-planting, she turned around to see…the yellow barrier. Still dented. Still annoying.

But she was on the other side.