I walked up to the door to the parlor, took a deep breath and prepared for an inquisition. Despite the trouble I knew this would cause, I had no other option.

"Mother?"

"Yes Katherine?"

"I was wondering if you had heard from Isabelle at all recently? I haven't received any letters from her in over a month."

"Why would I have? Honestly Katherine. You haven't seen Isabelle in 5 years. Why do you insist on this close contact?"

I was outraged at her comment but refrained from shouting.

"How can you say that? Despite her being a mage she is still your daughter. And she is doing your bidding and the bidding of the chantry. She has done all that she can do and you still hate her!"

My mother shook my head at me like I was a child and simply said "She's a mage."

I didn't bother with a response as I turned and walked out of the parlor. I went outside to the stables, saddled my horse Moonlight and grabbed my bow. I went out into the woods to hunt, it always calmed my nerves and it infuriated my mother. A double win situation for me.

It was exceptionally odd that I hadn't heard from Izzy. In the 5 years that she had been gone, we had been in communication almost weekly that entire time. A little over a month back, I stopped receiving letters from Iz. At first I thought that she was just busy and had forgotten but when a month passed and I still hadn't heard anything I began to worry. Thinking on it now, I stopped receiving letters just after I argued with mother about my duty as the heir to House Trevelyan. The more I thought about it, I wouldn't be surprised if she had something to do with my missing letters.

A few hours later I had a plan. Obviously talking to my mother was out of the question so I was left to try something a little riskier. Over the years, Iz had asked for some items in her letters. Mother wouldn't give me the money for it and father wouldn't stand up to her so I was left with few options. Unwilling to not get my sister the few items she wanted, I began hunting and selling the meat on my own in the nearby village.

Sometimes I sold to a middle man rather than directly to customers and sometimes they were not completely law abiding citizens. Over the last year or so I had heard rumors of a man in the area who was able to disappear without a trace. My plan was to track this man down and convince him to teach me how to do that. Like I said, not my best plan ever but I was out of options.

It took some time, almost two weeks to be precise, but I finally found a trace of him. He apparently spent his spare time in the bar currently in front of me. It looked like it was ready to fall apart at any minute but I didn't let that deter me. I walked in, ordered some sort of drink and sat in the corner to look. I was looking around when I saw a man that fit the only description I had.

I left my untouched drink on the table and walked over to him. I sat down and addressed him. Using the only name I had for him I spoke with a confidence that I did not feel.

"Would you happen to know a man named Silvio?"

He looked at me intently for a moment. "Possibly. What would a young woman such as yourself want with such a man?"

I almost rolled my eyes at him. Did he really think he was getting information out of me without telling me something concrete in return? I grew up with Lady Yolanda Herondale, an aristocrat and a fierce lover of The Game.

"I suppose it depends on who I'm talking to."

He stared at me intently again before speaking. "Alright. I am Silvio. What do you want?"

"Is it true that you can make it seem like you are invisible?"

"That is true. Why?"

"Teach me."

He had been taught well because no surprise showed on his face.

"Why would I do that little one?"

I glanced around quickly before saying quietly "Because I am Lady Katherine Trevelyan and I'm sure that you could stand to have a noblewoman owe you."

"Of course I could. But that begs the question. This is not generally an accepted skillset for a noblewoman. Not here anyway. Why do you want to do this?"

I was now at an impasse, I did not want to inform him that I wanted to sneak into a Circle, but if I didn't tell him the truth then he might not teach me. I decided to bridge the two.

"My sister. I haven't been allowed to see her in almost 5 years. Recently I stopped receiving letters from her and I want to go and check that she's alright."

Perfect. None of that was a lie. I might've withheld a little information but that won't hurt him.

"Well, you're still holding something back. Although your ability to not let that show on your face is impressive for someone of your age. But you have me intrigued. I accept your proposal."

The next month was a complete blur. I met up with Silvio in the dead of night, continued to carry out all of my duties during the day, and found time to sleep somewhere in between. Despite Silvio's comments that some people cannot manage to stealth themselves at all and that those who can can take up to 6 months to learn it, I practiced all the time determined to succeed.

One afternoon I was practicing in the woods when I felt something different that all of the other times I had tried. I got my answer when my horse started looking around for me. I figured out how to reappear, but I startled my horse and she took off leaving me alone.

That night I met up with Silvio and showed him what I had accomplished.

"Honestly Kat, I'm impressed. It's rare for someone to be able to learn this so quickly. Also, you're quite adept at it. The level of 'invisibility' that accompanies stealth is very much dependent on each individual person. I've never met someone so new, who is as unseen as you are."

I was delighted at the news and my happiness must have shown because he laughed.

"I think that you are ready to sneak into the Circle my dear."

I wasn't even surprised that he knew. My name combined with a little digging and it would've been very easy to piece everything together.

Despite only knowing him for a month, I felt very close to Silvio. I quickly threw my arms around him.

"Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me."

"You're welcome my dear. I've seen you eyeing my daggers recently, I know you're proficient with a bow, but maybe you'd like to learn how to use knives when you return?"
"Really? Yes! Yes! Thank you!"

"Now go. I do believe Ostwick is a bit of a journey. You'd best go prepare. We'll meet again in a week."

A few days later I managed to convince my mother that I wanted to go into Ostwick to look at the latest fashion. Delighted that I was showing interest in something appropriate, she was more than happy to send me off. I was sent with a couple of our guards but with a little bit of bribery and some convincing lies, I convinced them to leave me be when we reached Ostwick. Let them think I was off spending time with a boy, that was safer than the truth.

I spent the day around the circle looking at their defenses. I quickly discovered that getting in would be the easy part. A Circle is designed to keep people in, not out. That night I snuck into the Circle. The next part was to find my sister. That was excessively difficult, a Circle is huge and it wasn't like I could stop and ask for directions. I had been wandering for about an hour and a half and I was beginning to tire from the constant energy drain of keeping myself invisible.

I was about to turn around when I heard footsteps. Despite being invisible, I quickly hid in a windowsill. I didn't want someone to run into me.

"It's probably nothing Isabelle. You need to focus on your studies. You have so much promise. You have the potential to undergo your Harrowing in only a few short years. But you need to concentrate."

"I understand Enchanter Lydia. I just don't know why she hasn't responded to any of my letters."

I almost fell out of the window when I saw a Iz walking down the hall with another mage who looked to be in her 30s. Iz was taller, and obviously about to hit puberty, but she still looked like the baby sister that left 5 years ago. I quickly grabbed a scrap piece of paper, scribbled a note, tossed it on the floor in front of them and made some sort of noise near the ground to grab their attention.

Enchanter Lydia picked up the note.

"What is it Enchanter?"

"I'm not sure. It just says 'Is there a cat in my room?' "

Thank goodness that the Enchanter was still looking at the paper because the look on Izzy's face would've given it away. That girl is an awful liar. I was pretty proud of that note. Anytime she would go to her room and I would be there, she would joke that there was a cat in her room. I had been hoping that she remembered and that she would make an excuse to go to her room.

"Enchanter Lydia, would you mind if I went to meditate for a little bit before our next lesson? Maybe it'll help me relax and focus."

"Of course! I'll see you for your next lesson."

Izzy walked off and walked into an empty classroom. She quickly shut the door and pushed a chair underneath it to "lock" it.

"Kat. Is that you?"

I reappeared behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and crushed me into a hug.
"Let me look at you! Oh how you've grown! You look so much older." I exclaimed.

"Look at you! You have breasts! And a waist. You're so pretty! Oh I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too!"

Izzy then pulled back with a terrified look on her face.

"What are you doing here?! If the Templars find out…"

"I haven't been getting any letters from you and I kept sending you letters but still no response. I needed to make sure you were all right!"

"I stopped receiving letters from you as well! I tried sending you letters but nothing ever came back."

I sighed. "I guess I was right. About 2 and a half months ago, I got into an argument with mother about acting appropriately as the heir to House Trevelyan." I scoffed before continuing. "I guess she decided to cut off our contact after our argument. I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be! The real question is how did you do that?! You turned invisible."

"Well, I needed a way to come see you. So I found a guy in town. He taught me and he's going to teach me to work with daggers now! Now tell me about your studies!"

She laughed. "Some things never change."