"Father!" Brittany cried.

"Princess, we must leave now! King Rory's men will be here soon!" Rachel shouted at the blonde, tugging on her hand in an attempt to urge her forward.

"Brittany, listen to her," Brittany's father demanded.

Releasing one last choked sob, Brittany allowed Rachel to lead her into the passageway. Once inside, the blonde whirled around to see her father cover up the door. Tears streamed down her face as she pushed herself forward, trying to make as little noise as possible. She knew not of whether or not any sound would escape the tunnel.

The two continued down the tunnel in this silence, mostly because neither knew of what to say. Brittany did not trust her own voice to hold a conversation at that moment in time-she was too hurt to speak. If anything, the whisper of her voice would become choked and even more inaudible than she was sure it already was. Rachel led the way cautiously, following the directions that the King had given her.

There was no sound of war outside of the tunnel. Then again, it may have been because no sound reached them. Neither of the girls knew what it was like outside, or what they would be facing once they reached the exit of the tunnel they were searching for. King Rory's men from the opposing kingdom could have already infiltrated the kingdom of Ellic. The entire kingdom could have already been taken over. And Brittany would not even know.

"This way," Rachel whispered after some time, abruptly turning to her left. Had the brunette not been holding a lantern the entire time, Brittany was sure to have gotten lost along the way.

"How much longer?" the blonde asked quietly.

"Not much, for the exit is right before us," Rachel responded. She handed the lantern to Brittany and placed both of her hands on a wooden slab that blocked their path. After some minutes of pushing at the wood which served as a door, it finally gave way, and a gust of wind blew into the tunnel.

The wind carried along with it the smell of smoke and death.

Brittany did not need to step outside the tunnel to know what was waiting for her.

Still, Rachel grabbed the other girl's hand and dragged her from the tunnel, lifting her up. Brittany looked back at the tunnel, realizing that they had travelled upward to the top of a hill, and that the exit looked like a mere hole in the ground-a large hole, too suspicious for a traveller to come across. It was that reasoning that urged Rachel to fasten the slab of wood back in place, making sure it was sturdy enough for even a human to step on. She then scattered dirt and leaves across it, making sure no one would think anything of it.

From the place they stood at on the hill, Brittany was able to see part of her kingdom clearly. Scarlet flames rose, licking the sky and spreading their destruction quickly. Smoke rolled across the kingdom, covering everything in its suffocating stench. Ash had already began to bury the kingdom. The worst of it, however, were the screams. They pierced through Brittany, sending shivers up and down her spine. Her grip on Rachel's hand tightened as she imagined her friends being among those screaming, pleading for their lives to be spared.

"Why are we the only ones who escaped?" Brittany asked aloud.

"There were others. Surely there were others who had been able to flee," Rachel tried.

"I should be down there fighting! I should not be here, watching it all occur, and doing nothing to protect my people!" Brittany shouted suddenly, anger building up inside of her.

Why had her father sent her away? She should have been doing all she could to protect her kingdom, to try and save the people that had trusted her with their lives. They should have never believed her to be a leader. All she had proven herself to be was a coward. She had run in the face of battle, instead of staying with her people and fighting alongside them.

"Your father's orders were simple, Princess Brittany. He wished for you to escape. Surely he had good reason to wa-"

"There is no good reason for this!" Brittany yelled back.

Rachel beame silent, not daring to speak out again. She did not wish to upset her princess more than she already had. Instead, she silently looked at the kingdom, feeling the tears coming to her eyes. Despite being a servant, she had friends as well. She had family that probably did not survive. There could have been someone down there that she knew, trying to fight their way out.

None of this was fair. That was something both girls could agree on.

"We must begin our travels to Opheal. Queen Judy will allow us to take refuge there, as your father had told me before these events," Rachel stated.

Reluctantly, Brittany turned her back on her kingdom, a single tear rolling down her cheek. The two stared at the forest before them, knowing well that this was the only way to Opheal without going down into the kingdom. However, both of them had heard the rumors of the forest of Illerti. Creatures of all kinds resided here, none of them having the mind to show mercy, even those that could think in human words.

"Stay close to me," Rachel warned her. Neither of them carried even a dagger, yet they were both willing to go into the darkened forest. "I sense them drawing nearer to the hill," Rachel said suddenly just as they were about to step foot into Illerti. "An large group of soldiers are coming this way. We must hurry!"

"Rachel, your gift has its benefits and disadvantages. Those disadvantages being the ability to strike fear into my very being," Brittany replied lightly, despite how terrified she was.

Perhaps this was the last day she would see. King Rory's soldiers feared nothing. They would not hesitate to venture into the forest on the belief that any survivors could have escaped into it.

Knowing this, Brittany and Rachel broke into the run. Soon, though, they realized that they had hesitated for far too long, as the sound of horses and men shouting at one another followed closely behind them. Brittany was tempted to ask Rachel how far behind the soldiers were, but she realized that she had no desire to obtain this information.

Instead, they both continued to run, ignoring the sounds from behind them and the howls and growls of the creatures in the forest. If luck was on their side tonight-and Brittany sent multiple prayers into the heavens that it was-they would hopefully make it out of Illerti with their lives.

"In this situation I would beg of you to unlock the seal on my abilities and allow me to set this forest aflame!" Brittany shouted at Rachel.

"Your father told me to only unlock your powers if you are sure that you can handle them," Rachel replied.

"I do not care if I can handle them or not! I must save our lives! Unlock my abilities now! That is an order, Rachel!" Brittany screamed.

Rachel whispered words of a different tongue under her breath, and almost immediately Brittany felt the reaction. A scorching feeling ran under her skin and spread about her entire body. She could hear clearly now the soldiers catching up to them, and from the corner of her eye she caught sight of a few horses. Cursing under her breath, she flicked her wrist, and almost instantly a tree caught fire. Again she did this, though now aimed for behind them, trying desperately to build a wall of fire between them. Much to her dismay, a few horses managed to get past the flames, and the men riding their backs only grew angrier.

"They wear the clothing of an Ellician! Shoot them now!"

Brittany was unable to stop the arrows that rained down on them, though she did not cease to continuously set fire to her surroundings. She hollered out in pain when an arrow caught the side of her shoulder, yet not even that stopped her. Her and Rachel still ran, side by side, not allowing themselves to lose sight of each other. Unfortunately, Brittany came to a halt when she saw Rachel fall to the ground.

"Rachel!" Brittany screamed, seeing the arrow sticking from the girl's back. She looked up at Brittany, a smile on her face with blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth.

"Please continue on, Princess Brittany. Do not allow them to kill you."

With that, the brunette fell limp. The time wasted to hear her last words had allowed the horses to catch up with Brittany. They surrounded her now, some of the men having their arrows pointed at the blonde while others simply drew their swords. All wore proud smirks on their ugly faces, and it pained Brittany to have to look at them any longer.

"You are the princess of the fallen kingdom. Why have you left your people to suffer? It is surely your fault they are all dead," one man mocked.

"Shut your mouth, you stupid bastard!" Brittany yelled.

"Such strong words from someone whose death is already upon them," another man replied, eyeing Brittany's wounded shoulder. Only a thin line of blood streamed down. "These arrows are tipped with poison, fool. What you believed to be a scratch is your doom!"

Brittany grew faint at hearing the words. A few men stepped down from their steeds, their swords before them as if they were going to strike her. She knew, however, that they would give her no easy death as the one they appeared to be ready for. Her shoulder ached and she felt her eyelids growing too heavy for her. Just as she was about to give herself to the darkness that was closing in around her, she heard a distant shout.

"Why have you disrupted my forest?!"