Andromeda had refused to look at her aunt as the bus took her away from the city. Linda couldn't blame her; she understood that her niece felt cast out, disowned. Still, it stung with finality, as if it truly would be the last time they would see each other. The last two of the Bramblewood clan.

Linda's throat was thick as she walked back to the shelter, her new home for however long it would be. She had struggled to look at Andromeda as well—ever since the night before when her rage caused an explosion or something in the apartment they had shared with Linda's boyfriend. The shelter was the only place she could think to flee to, but it was soon clear that Andromeda could not stay in the city. Not when she could do that.

It felt wrong to send her away; Linda was the last family member she had left, and it was her job to take care of Andromeda. She herself had never fit in well at their home village in Tenebrae. Linda hadn't cared for traditions and didn't follow their beliefs. They had always considered her lazy because of that. It was because of her fascination with Lucis that she had snuck away south when she heard Fenestala Manor had Lucian guests—and how she had avoided the fires that killed the rest of her family.

Linda never got close to the Manor. She turned for home when she heard the Imperial airships above, already knowing that something terrible had happened. She arrived just after the troops did. Metal soldiers rounded up all those who were fleeing. Once every building had collapsed in the flames, the Imperials decided to put the flames out, lest the whole forest catch fire.

Then they began digging for the bodies. Linda had been insistent once she identified her mother's cottage among all of the other collapsed structures. She already knew that her mother was buried there. She felt like the most useless daughter for not having been there to help her escape in time. Linda was supposed to take care of her in her old age, but her own fancies had distracted her.

It came as a surprise when two bodies were discovered close together; Linda's sister had come home, but only too late it seemed. The charred, mangled corpses were pulled out of the wreckage. She found it impossible to look at them, to think that they had been familiar family members. Instead, she continued to insist that there were more bodies to be found, before the Imperials thought they were done.

Only one more body was found, smaller than the other two. Unlike the other two, the small body gave a strangled noise that vaguely resembled a cough. It surprised everyone and she was pulled out of the wreckage at once. Her clothes were tattered, the shirt burned away completely. The exposed skin of her body and arms burned a deep red, etched and twisted by the flames. Her budding chest had been warped completely.

Andromeda had been placed on a gurney and rushed to the field hospital, still in the process of being set up. Linda ran alongside it until she was prohibited from entering the tent. So she waited outside until they shooed her away. Other survivors took care of her while she couldn't do anything for herself. They pitied her because while they had surviving family members, it wasn't likely that Andromeda would live.

It was a couple of days before the doctors let Linda in to see her, and only because she identified herself as family. Andromeda laid on a simple cot, much of her upper body bandaged. Tubes were stuck in her skin in various places; the doctors had to explain the purpose for each one to Linda. Each one was hooked up to some bag or machine, and it all kept the girl alive as she continued to sleep. Linda feared that she would forever be reliant on these bags and machines.

Though the damage was covered up, Linda found it difficult to look upon her niece. Underneath the bandages and tubes, she was now some abhorrent thing. She had been close to the bodies of her grandmother and mother, both of whom were unrecognizable for how the fire had burned and charred them. Andromeda should have been dead too, just as mangled and unrecognizable. Only Linda seemed to realize this.

It was in that moment that she decided that she was the legal guardian of Andromeda, as if she was agreeing to take up the charge. She was only twenty. News of her brother-in-law's death had already come to the village. Linda kept a vigil over the girl.

After another couple of days, Andromeda woke up for the first time. She was even moreso horrified by her own body and the surroundings. Yet her waking was a sign that she was going to live after all, her body healing itself at a miraculous rate. Even the Imperial doctors were glad.

Linda had been too thankful at the time to consider how unrealistic it was. She had been too relieved that one family member—one that had been more like a little sister to her until now—was going to live. It wasn't long after Andromeda was allowed to leave the field hospital that a new sort of trouble began brewing for them. The presiding general assumed Linda knew secrets of the rebellion. The doctors had written a very important article about Andromeda's miraculous recovery; she overheard their plans to take her to Gralea to a formal hospital for further analysis. They had already realized that she shouldn't have lived, especially when others had died from less damage.

So Linda made the decision to take the last of her family out of Tenebrae before things could get any worse. She should have known that there was more to Andromeda's survival; a different kind of trouble would follow them to Insomnia.

The incident seemed to be everywhere Linda looked. Once the fire had been put out, the news channel and papers ran the story seemingly every hour, especially as the investigation became more and more obscure. The fire marshals could not give a cause for the fire, and therefore suspected arson. Of the three people that were listed as living at that address, only one had been taken to the hospital for severe burns. Neighbors had heard arguing and experienced flickering lights shortly before the smoke detectors went off in the apartment. The woman and girl had fled the scene, and had yet to be found.

Linda tried to focus on anything else. Upon returning to the shelter, she broke down in a volunteer's arms—the same that had understood her urgency the night before to send Andromeda out of the city as soon as possible. She didn't ask questions, but understood how hard it was to let go of a child. There were so many other things that she didn't know about, nor could understand.

Once calmed again, Linda tried to go on with the day, but found it difficult to function. She couldn't recall when she had last slept, and therefore was sent to bed. She slept deeply until the next morning. A message had been left for her: Andrea had made it safely to the farm.

She started to settle in at the shelter, receiving a couple of outfits for herself and signing up for tasks in the kitchen. It wasn't long after Linda started to clean the tiled floor that someone came to tell her she was needed at the front desk.

Her heart dropped to her stomach at the call, but she walked through the halls regardless. She was not surprised to find two police officers waiting with the receptionist, the latter who looked scared as she observed the three others in the room.

"Linda Hulda?" One of the officers asked.

She nodded stiffly. "That's me."

"You're wanted for questioning." He stated. "Hands behind your head."

The other officer approached and frisked Linda for weapons. Finding nothing, she had Linda put her hands behind her back and placed handcuffs on her wrists. She was escorted out of the shelter and into a patrol car parked on the street. No one asked about Andrea.

The police station wasn't too far from the shelter. Once there, Linda's fingerprints were recorded and she was taken to a small, cold room. She was handcuffed to a bar on the table, then left alone for a little while. She tried not to think too much during that time; she knew that she hadn't done anything. That wouldn't be enough, though.

Soon a man and a woman entered the room, dressed in business casual. They took seats across the table from Linda. The man placed a folder in front of himself. He gave a friendly smile, but she found it difficult to look at both of them.

"Ms. Hulda," The man addressed her first. "I'm Detective Donitus and this is Detective Frediano."

Linda nodded to them both, finally looking at their faces. The woman remained expressionless as she watched her carefully. With her hands chained to the table, Linda couldn't offer to shake their hands. They didn't try it either.

"Were you residing in apartment 48 at the 503 apartments on 55th street?" Donitus asked, taking a glance in the folder to get the address correct.

"Yes." Linda answered. There was no lying about that. There was no need to lie here—she hadn't done anything.

"Andrea was not at the shelter with you." Frediano stated. "Where is she now?"

Linda took a moment to answer, knowing that here and now, it had been the wrong move. "I sent her out on a bus to Duscae. I arranged for her to stay at a farm to live and work. She arrived there last night."

"Is it family?" Frediano raised a brow.

"No. Just a farm that needs summer help."

The detectives took a moment to absorb that fact. She leaned forward slightly. "A bus ride to Duscae is a pretty big trip for a kid to take alone. And you arranged it overnight? What was the rush to get Andrea out of Insomnia?"

Linda squirmed in her seat. It did seem sketchy. "Well, she never did want to move here. I have no way of providing a home at the moment. The shelter coordinator told me about a farm in need of help outside of the city. I thought she would be happier there than at a homeless shelter."

It had seemed to be the best thing for Andromeda, especially after what had happened. She needed to get away from it all. Judging from the frowns, the detectives thought otherwise.

"She was at the apartment when the incident happened?" Donitus asked.

"Yes." Linda mumbled down at the table. She knew what the next questions would be. She needed to think of a logical answer, because the truth wasn't believable.

"What happened?"

"Chad and I were arguing about... my lack of a job. Andrea came in in the middle. She was late for curfew, so they got into an argument about that. Then he went into the kitchen, and then the fire started." She explained meekly. There was much more to it than that; Linda didn't want to remember what had happened. She found her own explanation suspicious.

The detectives did as well, sitting silently for another moment, as if waiting for more. Linda had nothing more to give. It was almost as simple as that.

"And then you ran." Frediano added. "Why?"

"I panicked."

"So you ran? You didn't call for help like the neighbors did—you took off and tried to hide in a homeless shelter. How did the fire start?"

Linda shrank in her chair at the accusation in her tone. "I don't know."

"Why else would you have run?" Frediano insisted.

"Chad's story goes a little differently." Donitus brought up, gesturing for her to sit back. Linda was surprised to hear that Chad was still alive, and talking. He hadn't even screamed when the fire erupted in the kitchen. "He said all three of you were arguing, sure, but he mentioned some strange things started happening. He claimed things fell out of place and the lights were flickering. He accused Andrea of somehow causing it to happen."

Linda looked down at the table. Did Donitus know what he was talking about? "We've been having electric problems for awhile-"

"The electric company and the fire inspectors both said there were no electrical problems in the building." He interrupted with a casual smile. "The fire only started because a cupboard crashed into the stove."

Linda sat still for a moment, then tried to brush it off with a smile. "You can't tell me that you think Andrea set it up somehow. Or that she made it all happen with magic. That's impossible. Chad can't have remembered it right."

"We don't know for sure until we speak with her." Donitus leaned back. "And I don't think you would have run from the scene if one of you didn't have some involvement in what happened."

They sat silently for a long minute. The detectives waited for another answer, an excuse as to why Linda had fled with Andromeda, rather than wait for help. They wouldn't have been blamed if they had waited—at least not this much. But any interaction with authorities could lead to an ousting of their true identities: immigrants residing illegally within the city. Linda had to navigate this carefully to avoid that.

The detectives needed an answer. Nothing she could think of sounded reasonable. They already knew that the usual causes for fire were not at fault for this one. It seemed as though they believed Chad's account already. They just needed Linda to confirm it. She had no choice.

"I don't understand what happened." She finally said slowly. "Those things didn't happen until she came in. I told her to stop, but I don't think she could."

Some tension left the room, although not for Linda. She didn't like where this conversation was going. She didn't want to think about what Andromeda had done; it didn't make any sense. As loathed as she was to admit it, Linda knew that it had to be some kind of magic.

"Was that the first time something like that had happened with her?" Frediano asked.

She continued to look down at the table in defeat. "No. When we first came to the city, she was alone in our first apartment one night and was spooked really bad. I just thought it was her own trauma."

"What do you mean by her trauma?"

"She was in a fire in our old home. Her parents died in it, but she survived." Linda explained, resorting to the alibi she and Andromeda had been living by for years now. That sounded like the most reasonable story in this whole interrogation. There was no need for the detectives to look into it.

"Where was your old home?" Donitus came to attention again.

"Old Lestallum."

He raised a brow at that again. "That's even further away than Duscae. What made you decide to move all the way to Insomnia?"

Linda relaxed a bit as they moved on to this topic. She had it well-rehearsed over the years. "Andrea survived the fire, but she needed to see a more formal doctor. I needed more suitable work to take care of her. I thought it would be better for both of us."

"Can't blame you there." Donitus nodded. "Why not send her all the way back to Old Lestallum?"

"There's no family left to look after her." Linda answered quickly. That didn't require a lot of thought.

He glanced at Frediano. "Let's take a break."

It wasn't clear what they meant by a break: were they just going to take a few minutes, or a few days? Would they send Linda back to the homeless shelter in the meantime?

Frediano nodded, turning to her. "We'll have more questions for you soon. Until then, you'll be detained here. You've already tried to hide from us once. You fled from the scene of the crime. Sending Andrea away was an obstruction of justice. Whatever really happened, you are facing charges on those accounts."

Linda did not reply, stunned. She should have expected something like that, though. Frediano was right. She had run away, which made everyone think she was at fault. She had sent Andromeda away, out into Lucis which was more dangerous than the city. Perhaps this would have all gone much differently if Linda had not tried to create a quick solution herself. Perhaps she had done too much this time.

The detectives took their leave, and an officer came in to unchain Linda from the table and escort her to a holding cell. She waited there for a seemingly long amount of time—long enough for a meager meal and sleep.

Once she was awake, Linda was taken to the interrogation room again. There was a small breakfast waiting for her, as well as a cup of coffee. The chain on the cuffs was long enough that she could eat without a problem. Shortly after the food was gone, the detectives came into the room and settled into the same chairs as the day before.

"Sleep well?" Donitas asked, bringing the file with him once again.

"Yes." Linda lied. She was in an unknown place, and thoughts had kept waking her in the night. It wasn't easy to sleep with all of this going on. She couldn't think of what the next few days would hold for her.

"Well, let's just get right into it." He didn't acknowledge her answer. "We looked into that fire you had mentioned in Old Lestallum, but they had no record of it. The town didn't have records of any Huldas ever living there either."

"We also ran your ID and found a few manufacturing errors. It didn't come from any government office." Frediano added. "Your documents are fake. You aren't from Lucis at all—you wouldn't have had to get fake papers if you were."

Linda was speechless. This had suddenly become much worse. She hadn't thought that they would actually look into the alibi. Why would they? It had nothing to do with what was going on now. It had sounded so realistic and reasonable. Yet in a few hours the detectives had debunked the alibi. Until now, no one had looked too closely into it.

There would be no end to this. Once these authorities were done with Linda, she would be deported back to Tenebrae, to Imperial authorities. She remembered her last encounter with them all too well.

"It's true." She admitted with a thick tongue.

"Then what's the real story? Where are you really from?" Frediano demanded. "Is Linda even your real name?"

The worst of it was already revealed; Linda couldn't hide anything else. "I prefer Linda, but it's not the name I was given when I was born. Andrea is actually Andromeda, and she prefers her real name. We're Tenebraen. We came here after Niflheim attacked the Manor. Andromeda needed to see a doctor—that much was true."

Donitus was not friendly as he was the day before. He frowned. "This is become much more serious. We will still hold you for this investigation, but after that, you'll most likely face deportation and face the charges in Tenebrae, however they want to handle it."

Linda would rather stay here in Insomnia and deal with their justice system. She had no idea how Tenebrae handled things now with no ruling monarch. Niflheim was probably in complete control now, and they had been known to be much more strict. The life she had built for herself here in Insomnia was suddenly gone, and she would never have a chance to build a new one.

"As for right now, though, this investigation can't continue until..." Donitus paused as he tried to recall the name Linda had just given them. "Andromeda returns to the city. Do you know where exactly this farm is?"

"Yes." Linda had memorized the mailing address before sending Andromeda off to it. She wasn't going to send her away without knowing by heart where it was she would be. She told them the address, then the phone number.

"It's good that you know that." Frediano said. "We're going to have you make contact with her. We'll make arrangements to get her back here from there."

"Okay." Linda agreed. She had been arrested shortly after hearing of Andromeda's arrival at the farm; she hadn't had a chance to reach out and speak with her herself. Now that everything was falling apart for them, Linda wanted her here, where she could see her. It would be better if they went through this together, rather than apart. What if Niflheim found out what Andromeda could do?

There was no need for an officer to come escort Linda. The detectives simply took her to another room. On that table sat a phone and some kind of recording machine next to it. Once the recorder was set up, Linda was told to dial the number.

The phone rang a couple of times before it was picked up. "Hello?"

It was an older woman—the farm wife. Of course Andromeda would not answer the phone. It wasn't her house. She had never spoken on the phone before. Linda had never been able to afford one for her before.

"Sheila, right? It's Linda, Andrea's aunt." Linda smiled. From her previous talk with the woman, she seemed pleasant.

"Oh hello! How is everything?" Sheila's voice brightened once she recognized who was calling.

"Everything's fine." Linda knew she was really asking if she had gotten set up with a job yet, or some kind of housing. She had told Sheila about that situation. She had to accomplish both before Andromeda returned to Insomnia for the school year. "Is Andrea around?"

It felt strange to ask after her own niece, as if they were no longer a part of the same household. It was because they weren't.

"She's out mending fences with the boys. It will take me a few minutes to fetch her." Sheila warned.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Hold on, then."

The other phone was set down, but did not hang up. Linda continued to hold her phone to her ear. She and the detectives sat in silence as they waited. It started to get awkward after awhile.

True to her word, it was a few minutes before Sheila returned to the phone, winded. "She won't come. She says there's too much to get done before dark."

"Oh." Linda frowned. Was the fence truly that important? She remembered how Andromeda barely hugged her at the bus terminal. She hadn't been able to get away from her aunt fast enough. Of course she didn't want to talk to her.

"She's doing great, though." Sheila added hastily. "She's a little slow right now, but Trevor says she's a hard worker. The scars are a bit of a surprise, but she's getting along with everyone here just fine."

"That's good." Linda tried to smile, but couldn't keep it up. Andromeda couldn't imagine what sort of trouble waited for her in the city. "Um, maybe I'll try again another time."

"Okay. I'll let her know. Take care." Sheila said.

"You too." Linda mumbled. She heard a click on the other end, then pressed end on her phone. Andromeda was going to be much more difficult to contact than she had thought.

After the first call, Linda was taken to a jail. The investigators had gotten her side of things; all they needed now was Andromeda's account of what had happened. That was the only use they had left for Linda—twice a week, she would call the farm. Andromeda refused to come to the phone each time.

Other than that, Linda simply waited in jail, following along the schedule. There was no mention of a trial for her because there was no plan for one. She never heard if Chad ever recovered completely from the fire; recalling how her family had been burned up, she didn't want to see him ever again. Linda could do nothing but wait for Andromeda to come to the phone and talk to her again. If it were ever truly going to happen.

After a couple of weeks, someone had more questions for Linda. She didn't know what else she could tell them. She had given them everything. It was up to Andromeda now to tell them what had really happened. Linda felt just as clueless as the investigators.

As she was given nice clothes to change into, Linda knew there was something peculiar about this meeting. Perhaps she was going before a judge. Wouldn't they tell her if she was? She put the new clothes on and was led to a patrol car, without handcuffs. It wasn't as though she could actually do anything to the officers.

The car drove for awhile, going deeper into the city. Towards the end, it drove through a tunnel, then stopped before a large entrance. Two Crownsguard were waiting. They took charge of Linda once she stepped out of the car. She glanced up at the towering building, seeing two of its four spires that reached high into the sky. She was mortified; she was at the Citadel.

No one else was going to stop so she could gawk. Linda followed one of the Crownsguard while the other trailed behind them. Now she understood why she was given such nice clothes. The prison garb wouldn't be allowed here. Prisoners did not visit the Citadel.

The three walked for awhile, then took an elevator up several floors, then walked some more. It was the same as Linda remembered it when Chad had taken them on a tour of the place two years ago. She hoped no one realized that had happened.

All of the doors looked the same to Linda, but the Crownsguard stopped before one and knocked. There was an order to enter, and the woman opened the door. She ushered Linda inside.

It was a spacious, well-decorated office. One wall was mostly comprised of windows; as for the other three, if there wasn't a bookshelf in the space, it was an oil-painting of some kind. A large, ornate desk stood in the center of the room. The king sat behind it, flanked on one side by his Shield and on the other by the fabled Marshal.

Linda nearly froze in place when she took notice of the men. The king's guards stood at attention. The two Crownsguard stepped forward and bowed. Linda followed suit.

"Your Majesty, Linda Hulda." The woman introduced.

After another moment, both Crownsguard stood straight and stepped back towards the door. Linda stayed right where she was, feet planted in the carpet.

"Please, sit." The king's demeanor became more cordial once it was just her standing before the men.

She found herself taking a seat in one of the two plush chairs set before the desk, although she couldn't remember moving her feet. It came to her mind that she should probably say something, but nothing actually came to mind beyond that.

"It's been brought to my attention that you and your niece were in Tenebrae on the day the Empire attacked." The king began, getting straight to business. This had nothing to do with the apartment fire that had happened three weeks ago in his city. "What happened?"

It was the first that anyone had been curious about what Linda and Andromeda had experienced in Tenebrae. The attack had been primarily targeted on Fenestala Manor, and the royal family. There was more to it than that. The king would understand that—he had been there.

"We lived in one of the rebel villages to the north. The Empire dropped bombs on it and razed it completely. They didn't want any help going to the Manor. My mother's house was one of the houses that was bombed directly." Linda tried to summarize it as much as possible. "She, my sister, and Andromeda were together in the house. Only Andromeda lived, but she shouldn't have. Other people died from less."

There was only one reason behind Andromeda's survival, and Linda didn't want to touch upon it. But it was exactly what King Regis was interested in: some sort of magic—or Six forbid, a god—had been involved. Only the king was supposed to have magic.

"I sort of knew then that something wasn't right. And she needed a doctor, so I took her out of Tenebrae before something would happen. I brought her here to hide behind your wall. I'm sorry for that, Your Majesty. If there had been a way to come here legally and quickly, we would have done so. I thought there was a chance that nothing would happen at all." Linda kept her head down. She didn't like how the men looked at her. At least they kept their distance.

"You did what you could. Given the circumstances, inaction would have been worse after what had happened here." The king replied. "Once Andromeda is brought back to the city, you'll be allowed to stay."

He understood that they couldn't let Andromeda fall into Imperial hands; they had wanted to take her to Niflheim all along because of her bizarre survival. The longer she stayed out in Lucis, the more likely the Empire would find out about her peculiarity.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Linda bowed her head again, relieved at the verdict. The Shield was not: he cast a glance at the king, but did not speak against him yet.

"There is one other question I have: who were Andromeda's parents?" The king asked.

It seemed to be an odd question to Linda. She did not worry about answering it. "They were the ones who are listed on her documents. I didn't bother to have their names changed. I didn't think it would matter. Both were high up in the resistance movement. My sister got involved as soon as she could. Andromeda's father came from the south. He defected from the military."

"And your own father?" The Marshal spoke up, earning a glance from the other two men. Linda also had to wonder what that had to do with anything, but she answered regardless.

"Never knew him. I don't think my sister knew him that much either, if we even had the same father." She shrugged. "We did things a little differently in the rebel villages. Men came and went all the time. Marriage was a trivial thing."

For much of her childhood, Linda thought having one mother running the house was a normal family. So many other kids had similar homes, although their fathers sometimes returned. Tenebraen families were matriarchal, just as the royal family was. It wasn't until her sister took a fancy to the southerner that she realized she should have had a father somewhere. He never materialized; he was most likely long dead.

What had been normal to Linda was strange in Lucis, especially to such distinguished men before her. Patriarchal lineage was very important to them. Even among the commoners, it was shameful to not know who one's own father was.

"I hope we can continue to count on your help in bringing Andromeda back." King Regis spoke first, although it was unclear what he had gotten from the last two questions.

"She's obstinate." Linda admitted, noticing that this was wrapping up. She was relieved at that as well. "But she'll have to return for school in a couple of months."

She had realized that after a couple of phone calls. Even if Andromeda continued to ignore her all summer, she couldn't stay at the farm during the winter. There would be no work for her. She had to return to Insomnia for school. She was two years away from graduation.

"We might not have that much time." The king warned. "Given your cooperation thus far, you are pardoned from the charges against you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Linda bowed her head again. This was all turning out too good to be true. Of course, with the king's attention, Andromeda's return to the city would be expedited somehow. Despite Linda's efforts, it wouldn't be her that convinced Andromeda to come back early. "I'll keep trying with her."

"Thank you." King Regis gave a brief smile. "Officers Elshett and Ackers will escort you back."

Linda rose and bowed to him as the Crownsguard stepped forward to do the same. They led the way out, and through the confusing maze of the Citadel. A private car waited for Linda at the entrance to take her anywhere. Having no where else to go, she gave directions to the shelter again. She had to get her life back in order if Andromeda would be returning to Insomnia soon.