Caleb lay in his bed; restless, eyes marked with black circles, barely noticeable unless you squinted. He found, that even though he had already slept, he was exhausted. But he couldn't sleep. Every time he tried, flipping over into a comfortable position, Vathek's words on the still nameless; faceless girl just echoed in his mind. "Worse than the Tyrant". She couldn't be worse than the Tyrant, could she? Caleb didn't even think she was as bad as the Tyrant but to be worse—No. If she was as bad as the Tyrant, she would've killed him or captured him at the very least. But she had mercy, respect, a conscience; those three things alone put her miles above the Tyrant, who cared for little or nothing, so there was no way she could be worse. But Vathek had told him she was feared, feared more than the Prince who could drain magic from the light, drain life from the town, drain hope from the people. There was no one who feared anyone other than the Prince. Except now there was this girl, this red-head who had found a way to be feared more than everyone.
How. That was his question. How did she do it? How was she seen as such a heartless person? How did she know he was there? How could she let him live and then leave if Phobos was her master, a punishing and ruthless man? But then there was why. Why did she let him live and leave? Why did she touch him? Why was she in the forest? Why did she speak to him so affectionately and call him "Sleepy boy"? Caleb knew they were important questions, questions that needed answers; that needed her to answer them. But he couldn't help but wonder what she had done to be worse than the Tyrant, to be feared by everyone, to be hated.
He didn't want her to be hated, it made him feel bad inside, like it was his fault, but he couldn't judge her, like her, without reason and so far, all he had was his life. How long had she even been in the war? He had never seen her before so it mustn't have been very long…or had it? Maybe she was like Caleb, thrust into this war by her parents. Maybe she didn't want to side with Phobos, because her grumblings were evidence enough, but her parents forced her to side with him, kept her there. Maybe she wouldn't be their enemy, she would be their ally. Maybe Caleb could save her.
He rested his eyes a moment, letting his thoughts overrun him with a slight smile. He would save her. He would prove to her that Phobos was wrong and that she didn't have to be on his side. She could be with Caleb and the rebellion. She could be with Caleb.
****Rebel Fire***
A week and a half later, Caleb found himself in much the same position; tossing and turning in his bed as thoughts of the faceless red headed girl consumed him. It had been a week of endless searching and questioning and the only thing that happened was they captured twenty two castle guards…mostly Caleb's doing. But she still remained nameless. Sighing, he returned to his theorizing. He still couldn't find her, didn't know where she lived. The only thing he knew was that she didn't live in the palace. Or at least, that's what he guessed. There was so little information available, even in those few villages that she had visited for Phobos. Magic happened, bad things occurred, people went missing, but she was never seen. Like the wind, she remained invisible. A shaking, loud and violent, took Caleb from his thoughts. It meant one thing. An attack.
"Who is attacking?" Aldarn roared as the ruckus continued, shaking emerald green ceilings and pillars, cracking the shimmering tiles that coated the city. Rebels merely scrambled around, securing tents and dodging debris. Caleb scoured the crowds with his eyes, searching for an Elder as he stayed away from the raging rebels. If the Elders weren't here then something serious was happening. Something had taken them, or forced their abandonment. Forced them to run. But, he reasoned, they had survived for so long in the rebellion, never giving in to Phobos; never running. So why would they run now? Ignoring his quest for the Elders, he decided to figure out what was going on.
"Aldarn!" He called, barely avoiding being crushed by a falling ceiling tile. Aldarn glanced at him, gesturing to the ceiling an making a swatting motion. Looking up at the ceiling and then the surrounding groups of rebels, still panicking like they had never been fought before, Caleb slowly began putting the pieces together. It took a moment for realization to strike, but he finally understood. "Evacuate to the caves!" Aldarn screeched, gathering supplies into bags and slinging them over his shoulders as some of the older rebels did the same. They were collapsing the ceiling; breaking into the Infinite City. The only reason for such an indirect attack was because it was effective. They hoped to crush the rebel forces with shining emerald tiles. Heavy mounds of rock that would kill you when they landed on you. And if they didn't kill you, they were sure to hold you down long enough for their new enemy to do that.