A lost girl wandered about, searching for safety and help. She felt disoriented and her whole body ached as though she had been blasted through a thick wall and thrown a hundred feet- several wounds etched into it, both seen and unseen. Above her, the skies were dark with storm clouds and thunder sounded in the near distance, coming closer and closer every few staggering steps she took.

She had no idea how long she had been walking, she barely even remembered why she had started her journey, but she knew nonetheless that she was in danger if she stayed. Her feet began to drag and her legs were losing strength just as the storm reached her. The rain began pouring down just as the last of her strength failed her and she slumped forward onto the dirt road she traveled. She felt like giving up at that point, as though she had gone as far as her body would allow her to, and was ready to just accept that she may die there in the mud and alone. As her eyes began to close, however, she heard a man's voice calling out and it brought her back briefly from the fog that was overtaking her. Glancing up at the man, who was now crouching beside her, she could barely make out his features.

"Are you alright?" the man asked.

"H-Help…" she barely managed to get out before succumbing to the darkness once more.

"Hold on, miss!" the man said before casting a spell. "Chrono Stasis."

A sphere enveloped the girl, a ring orbiting around it as it lifted her from the ground. When he was certain that she was secure, the man took off with immense speed and wove his way through the forests towards a place he knew the girl would be safe and her wounds could be treated.

When the girl woke next, she felt groggy and it took her a moment or two to realize that she was no longer cold and wet but rather warm and dry.

"You're awake," a new voice said as she sat up.

She looked around, seeing that she was in some sort of infirmary and a middle-aged man with short light-colored hair wearing a pair of rimless glasses and a white coat that resembled a lab coat of sorts. "Where am I?"

"You're in the infirmary at the Royal Palace," the man replied. He took a seat next to her bed and checked her forehead. "My name is Owen, I'm the healer that serves directly under the Wizard King."

The girl balked at hearing the name "Wizard King" and scooted back, fearful. "B-But that means-"

Owen reached forward to steady her as she nearly scooted herself off the bed. "Easy, it's alright. Julius found you injured and brought you here."

The girl looked down at the bandages on her arms and legs, reaching up to feel the ones on her cheeks. "W-Why..? We're enemies… aren't we..?"

Owen chuckled. "You've given us no reason to think that, so don't worry."

The girl eyed him warily, but slowly relaxed and let him check her wounds to make sure none of them reopened.

"So, do you have a name?"

The girl hesitated a moment, but replied, "Elinora… but people usually just call me 'Ellie'."

"Well, Ellie, it's nice to meet you." Owen sat back with and added, "Luckily, your wounds will heal soon enough. Julius got you here as quickly as he could after finding you, so we were able to keep them from getting any worse." His brow furrowed and he crossed his arms. "What happened to you?"

Ellie looked down at her hands, not wanting to remember. "I…"

Owen could see her hesitation and leaned forward to put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, take your time. If you'd rather wait to talk about it, that's fine."

A knock came at the door of the infirmary and they turned to see a man dressed in a fancy read cloaked with white fur, a gold necklace, and a couple of medals decorating it.

"Good, you're awake!" he said, smiling at Ellie. "I was worried when I saw how bad your injuries were."

"Ellie, this is Julius Novachrono, the Wizard King," Owen said, introducing the man.

Ellie dipped her head cautiously and sheepishly at him. "T-Thank you, sir, for saving me…"

"I couldn't just leave you there in the mud and rain like that," Julius replied, coming to stand next to her bed. "How are you feeling?"

Ellie sighed. "Honestly..? Horrible…"

"Do you think you could tell us what happened?" Julius asked. "If you're in any danger, we need to know so that we can help you."

Ellie took a few moments, considering her options before finally sighing again and beginning her tale.

Ellie was a girl from the Diamond Kingdom who had lost her parents a few years ago and was recruited into a training course for young mages led by a man named Moris Libardirt. They were told that the experiments they would undergo would enhance their magikal power and would be for the good of the kingdom, but the final experiment ended up being a battle royale where all the students were pitted against each other until only one remained. All Ellie remembered after that was everything going black then her waking up surrounded by dead bodies in a pit.

"T-The bodies… they were…"

Julius and Owen's hearts sank seeing her burst into tears, both coming to the conclusion that the bodies were those of the other children that didn't "pass" the final test.

Ellie quieted herself after a few moments, wiping the tears from her eyes as she tried to continue. "I j-just sniffle got out of there as f-fast as I could… I k-knew I couldn't stay… I-I just started w-walking sniff to get as f-far away as I could…"

"When I found you, you were already well within our borders," Julius noted. "Do you have any idea how long you were wandering with those injuries?"

Ellie shook her head. "N-No… I was just… looking for help… anywhere else but there…"

Owen sighed and lay her back on the bed, pulling the covers over her as he said, "Well, you're safe now. You should rest and we'll talk again some more later."

"Don't worry, Ellie, I'll take care of everything," Julius said, "I promise."

Feeling reassured and too exhausted to argue, Ellie just nodded and closed her eyes- falling asleep almost instantly.

Owen and Julius stepped out into the hall, closing the door halfway before speaking to each other.

"What do we do, Julius? We can't just send her back, not after she was put through that. If they were to find out she survived, they may experiment on her further."

"Agreed," Julius replied. "For now, though, let's give her time to rest and I'll figure out what to do next."

Owen nodded as Julius took his leave, then returned to the infirmary- giving Ellie another blanket when he saw her shivering.

'Poor kid...'