Hey everyone! I'm super sorry I haven't updated in so many days, but as many of you know, I broke my collarbone, and had to get surgery on Wednesday! But as of today, I'm feeling a lot better, and might even try to update again tomorrow! This chapter exceeds 1800 words, and I hope you all enjoy! As always, it means so much to me when you star my chapters, and comment about what you do and don't like!

Enjoy! "No one is born evil, just like no one is born alone. They become that way, through choice and circumstance."

Mare

"What time do the scientists leave?" I ask Ella, who closes her eyelids, thinking.

"I'd guess nine," she confirms. "Although I don't have much of a concept for time, but I heard one of my doctors yell to another for the time once. The other replied with seven, and then with my lousy calculations, they left about two hours later. Then everything goes dark and becomes unconditionally silent," Ella whispers her last sentence, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"I'll sneak in at ten- thirty, just to be safe."

"That's when we get to the interesting slash complicated part," she remarks, skeptical of my plan. "How are you going to get a keycard to get back in here? All the scientists in this facility keep their cards in their breast pockets to prevent pickpocketing. And there's no way," Ella continues, emphasizing the no. "that you could knock one of those scientists unconscious without anyone noticing."

"I told you I have a plan. I admit it's a bad plan, and it could go terribly wrong, but it's the only idea I've come up with."

"Go on," Ella tells me, worriedly, as she drags a hand through her non- existent hair.

Taking a gulp of air, I state my plan. "I bet there's one other person in this palace that has access to this wing. The king must have access to this wing, don't you think?"

"Oh, I'm sure he does Mare. And I can already see where this is going," Ella explains, eyeing me. "You shouldn't risk your life for me, we need more time to concoct a plan."

"Didn't you hear the doctors? A few more doses of that serum and your powers are as good as gone. We don't know anything about their research here, whether the cure can restore your powers once they're entirely gone. We need to act now before they can cause more damage than they already have. And anyway, you aided my escape from the palace once, I need to do the same for you."

Ella begins to tear up at my speech, and then breaks out into heavy sobbing. "You have no idea what they've done to me. Inject me with vial after vial of that poison, laughed at my futile attempts to escape, and shaved every strand of my bright blue hair," she vociferates, hauntedly.

"I will never be able to say it too many times. I'm so sorry. And I know you are in no state to listen to my plan right now, but I need to finish explaining it," I tell Ella as gently as possible. "Tonight Maven and I will have dinner, he has already requested it. Stealing the key card will be hard, considering he doesn't trust me, as he shouldn't. But Maven is so, so desperate for my acceptance of him, he won't think twice when I do. I'm going to admit something I've never wanted to admit, and do something that the depths of my heart still wish was possible. I'm going to kiss him, passionately," I state, simultaneously swallowing a bit of vomit that came up while I spoke. "The kiss will let his guard down long enough for me to search his pockets, and poach his card."

"This all happens assuming he has his key card and doesn't catch on to what you're doing," she says, still pessimistic.

"I know. But like I said, it's my only idea."

She nods and puts on a smile to encourage me. "Good luck."

I sneak back to my room, periodically ducking behind the furniture in the hallway, or turning to a window, to avoid palace officials seeing my face. Eventually, I make it back to my room, closing the door quietly.

Walking into the closet, my gaze rakes over my old training apparel, finally landing on a pair of black spandex leggings and a sleek black running jacket. I slip the soft fabric on, the clothing still fitting well.

While I wear the black to blend in well with the night, I also wear it as a symbolic message only I will ever understand. Today was the day I realized Maven had no hope of recovery, and the boy I fell in love with was gone forever. I wear black today as if I were attending a funeral for a dead loved one.

Lastly, I tie my hair up into a ponytail and pull my black boots onto my feet, which rest at my upper calf.

Before leaving, I close my eyes momentarily and lightly brush my fingers against each of my earrings. Have no pity on that horrible man, I tell myself. He ripped you apart from your family multiple times, and has turned your life into a living nightmare.

Making my way through the palace, accompanied by a sentinel, I stare in disgust at the gigantic paintings that line the walls of measly reds bowing to the all powerful silvers. One painting in specific catches my attention. While it's similar to the others, across the middle of the art, RISE, RED AS THE DAWN has been spray painted across it.

I run over to the depiction and touch one of the ragged letters, which leaves red marks on the tips of my fingers.

"They're here," I whisper, so no one else can hear me. "And in broad daylight too," I finish, puzzled by how this was pulled off. Whoever did this had to be practically invisible. Or maybe they were invisible.

It was Harrick, it had to have been.

"Those filthy red rebels broke into the palace!" A nearby silver girl about my age screams to everyone around her. The girl's glares towards me. "Was it you?" She snarls.

"No, although I would have loved to be the person who did. I do, however, know who did it," I hint, and begin to walk away. But before I get far, my guard who had been walking me to dinner, grabs both of my arms from the behind and forces me to my knees.

"You heard her! Who did this?" The guard hollers at me.

"His name is Harrick, but it doesn't matter, you could never find him anyway."

"And why's that, Little Lighting Girl?" The guard asks me, enunciating "little."

"He has powers that make it possible to walk through the halls of the castle in mid- afternoon," I explain to all the courtiers who have stopped near the painting. He could even murder the king and get away with it, I think to myself.

The sentry lets go of my arms at last, understanding he won't get anymore information out of me. But before we leave, I turn back to the girl who accused me of the writing. "Those filthy red rebels," I retort, taking a threatening step towards her, "Are cleaner than a brat like you could ever be."

The silver girl's expression becomes briefly horrified, but she quickly covers it up with a smug look, as she gathers balls of waters from the vapor in the air. "I'd be careful, Lighting Girl. Keep that up, and you might just drown in your own words."

I nod, taking another step towards her, so now only about five feet of space resides between us. "I was never very good at keeping my mouth shut, even in deadly situations," I tell her, then changing the subject, "A nymph, I see. I remember you now. Tirana Osanos. You beat King Maven in a training match once. You also lost the Queenstrial," I finish with a smirk on my face, hoping to agitate her.

"And I am I did," she proclaims, shaking her head slowly. "I would have married a traitor."

"Yes, now you see that. But I bet when you first lost, you were devastated. And who wouldn't be? To find out you weren't good enough for something you had trained all your life for? I bet you cried for a week."

As a tear slips down Tirana's cheek, she draws enough water from the air to fill her hand, and then whips the liquid at me, drenching my entire stomach. Without saying anything, she storms down the hallway.

"Why didn't you stop me?" I turn and ask the sentry.

"It was interesting to watch," the man merely says.

I ponder over what it would've been like to witness the fight from a third perspective. "Understandable," I mutter, as we make our way to the end of the hallway, where a glass balcony stood.

The sentinel made his way back down the hallway, as I ambled to the railing and admired the sun setting. The sunset was particularly beautiful today, with a mix of majestic oranges, reds, and yellows. The perfect night for a possible disaster to occur.

"The weather has been odd, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has been. Butterflies and green grass in late November. Perhaps December will make up for the lovely weather," I reply, my back still turned to him.

"I hope so. I was never one for warm weather."

Turning towards him, and raising my right eyebrow, I ask, "Do you have any idea how ironic that is? A burner who loves the cold?" I compare Maven and his brother in my head. While Cal only radiates heat, at different levels depending on his emotions, Maven can give off both heat and frigidness based upon his mood.

"I can see where you think that," Maven chuckles, as he runs a hand through his hair, as if attempting to find something to do with them.

Moving from my spot near the railing, I take a seat at the table that was arranged for us, Maven copying a few seconds later. For a couple of minutes, we sit in silence, him gazing at the grand sunset and its multitude of colors, and I stare at my feet, gently tapping at each of my earrings. At last, when touching my earrings from loved ones, a question comes to mind. "My friends, who attended the ball with me. Are they safe? Ella, and Harrick?"

I turn my head inward towards the table, sneaking glances at Maven's eyes. For a fraction of a second, they look remorseful, but a blink later, they're back to looking at the sunset, innocently. Maven smiles serenely, "They got away. Even Ella with her broken arm miraculously got away from the evil king."

"I don't believe you're evil," I blurt, unable to look at the boy who just lied to me about the safety of my friends. "I can see it now, that you wish to be better, and I want to help you. I hate you, Maven. I still do, and you can't blame me after everything you've done to me. But, as long as you're keeping me here, why not give it a shot?" I conclude, but I still keep my head turned away, terrified that if I show him my eyes, he'll know I'm lying about everything I just said.