Arie didn't dare slow down as she bolted through the hallways. She had already left the nobles well and truly behind her. All she could do as she pounded down the hall was pray Lerant and Nadia were okay, that the charm of whoever was in danger held out. She threw herself around a corner and nearly collided with a couple of servants. But she was so focused on following the tether of magic that she didn't even hear their shouts or even see their faces. She wasn't even sure where in the castle she was by the time she whipped around the fifth corner. Arie didn't stop until she heard raised voices over ahead. Then she slid to a stop at the end of a hallway where she struggled to get her breath back.

At the opposite end of the hall two guards dressed in Port Legann's uniform. Both men were pounding on the large wooden door at the end of the other end. Between their knocking they were also trying to shout through wood. Desperately, they pushed on the door and yanked at the wrought iron handle. But the door seemed to be barred by the occupants of the room.

"My Lady! Please let us in." "What's wrong, my Lady?"

With all the authority Arie could muster she shouted, " What is going on here?" Her Gift gave another tug inside her chest almost stealing her breath away. Both guards spun around to face her as she stomped down the hall to them. Inside of answering they gaped at her like fish out of water. "Well?" She snapped at them, making them jump as if she had shocked them.

"Her Ladyship had her breakfast brought to her as she usually does, lately. But shortly after there was a crashing sound and muffled yelling. We can't get in or get the door open." Once he stopped talking Arie could in fact hear what sounded like a woman shrieking.

"Step aside, " Arie growled at the guards.

The two guards exchanged looks like they were suddenly uncertain if they trusted Arie anywhere near their mistress.

Impatience flared in Arie's gut and she snapped, "I'm a healer, and I can get that door open faster than the two of you combined. Do you want me to help your mistress or not?" She was going in there whether these men allowed her or not. Their reaction would only determine whether or not she put them to sleep or not. All the while her magic continued to drain away. Worry spiked to the point of panic. It wasn't normal for the magic to continuously drain away. The magic should have scared off any attacker while reducing them. This could only mean that whoever was on the other side of the door was still being attacked.

Reluctantly, the guards took a step back, though they didn't take their eyes off Arie as she approached the door. When Arie's Gift lit her palms both me took another hurried step back until they were actually pressed against the wall. Arie noticed that the blue green flames seemed drawn to the door as if there was a phantom wind in the corridor. Without pause Arie threw the fire at the door.

The effect was immediate. Wood groaned and paled where flames danced at the center of the door. As the color change spread to the rest of the door. Once it touched the metal of the handle and hinges they shrieked and rusted. Then in the next breath the door collapsed into dust at her feet. Beyond the doorway, the room itself was revealed to be a grand solar room. Soft rugs, plush armchairs, and other works of art filled the space. This was thrown into jarring contrast to shattered vases, shriveled flowers, and desiccated fabric that surrounded a cowering figure under a cloak of blue green fire. At the other side of one of the couches was a distinctly disheveled woman in a simple silk shift and a single matching slippery. This wild looking woman was still shrieking unintelligible words at the prone figure. A small crystal like ball clutched in her fist ready to throw.

Then the screaming woman turned her gaze on Arie. Her voice got caught in her throat, choking off whatever she was about to scream, even while her eyes enlarged to the size of saucers. In that moment of silence Arie studied the wild brown hair that was shot with a few strands of grey. There was something familiar about the mad woman that Arie couldn't quite place.

Finally the noblewoman found her voice. "You!" she hissed in a strangled voice."How dare you show your face here after you spat on your father's kindness?" Her face was turning red and edging into purple.

It was this moment that it clicked for Arie. This woman was her mother's stepmother. The woman who had refused to lift a finger to help her husband's daughter. Something twisted in Arie's gut painfully until she heard a soft sob. Arie turned to Nadia and ignored the death glare that the lady was giving her. The magic that protected Nadia didn't stir as Arie reached down and gently pried away the woman's hands from her face. Thankfully it looked like Arie's magic had shielded the maid from all of the projectiles. She cooed soft promises of safety to help ease the trembling in Nadia. Meanwhile the noblewoman returned to her banshee like screams. Each sound made the maid flinch like she was being scalded.

"Nadia, are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. Please forgive me." Over and over she repeated those words in broken sobs.

"SHUT UP YOU WORTHLESS TRULL."

Something in Arie snapped. She was not her mother who possessed endless patience and forgiveness. Her anger rose roaring through her body and her Gift answered eagerly as a hungry beast. Blue green fire exploded outward. It gobbled up the shards of broken pottery, wilted plants, and barely there fabric. The rug they stood on was gone in the span of a single breath. The lady screamed in terror and shrank back against the couch. Her wide eyes watching the magic that licked at her feet. Arie's magic swirled into a tornado that shielded her and Nadia while also keeping the petrified guards at bay.

Arie glared at the other woman. She glared at the black heart that sought to harm someone 'lesser' than herself. Arie relished in the tears of fright on the noblewoman's brown eyes. Relished in her realization that she was alone and helpless. It was no small pleasure to see the pain the older woman was in.

It was that thought that finally broke through Arie's terrible rage. She blinked. The woman who cowered before her was in pain even though Arie's magic hadn't touched her. It took Arie a moment to realize her Gift was showing her what was inside this woman. Her step grandmother's heart was literally black. She was so choked with poison that she should have no free will left. No person she knew had ever not been a puppet with this much poison running through their body.

The realization doused both Arie's anger and her Gift. "Someone go fetch Sir Nealan." Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "Your lady is very sick."

Neither guard did as she asked, though Arie wasn't really surprised by that. Instead both men moved to stand between her and their mistress. Both drew their weapons. Arie sighed through her nose.

"Does she normally throw screaming tantrums where she attacks her staff like that?"

One guard, the older of the two seemed to consider Arie's words. He glanced quickly around the room which was in shambles. Thankfully, Arie's magic had been restrained to the broken objects that had been thrown at Nadia and the rug they stood on. But still neither guard moved.

"Fine. Nadia, can you go find Sir Nealan and Lord Imrah?"

"No!"

Arie's gaze shot to her step grandmother. The woman was clutching at her frazzled brown hair. She looked absolutely mortified.

"No! No! No! My husband can't come here! He can't see me like this!" She shook her head and continued on.

"Do you know what is happening to you mistress?" Arie asked hoping to distract her from her tirade.

The woman's eyes fixed on Arie, her pupils dilating briefly. "Please! Make it stop!" she begged. "There are whispers in my head. I don't want to hurt him. Never him! Anna, please, I'm sorry."

Her mother's name was a punch to her gut. Arie's anger was quickly rekindled, but it was drowned by the exhaustion. Sheer exhaustion at having to confront someone she held so much anger and hurt towards.

"I am not Anna."

Confusion was the only response to her statement. Arie sighed in disgust before she ripped out the ribbon that tied her hair up. Her long black hair fell into a tangled curtain around her head. The blue green ends of her hair glowed faintly from her Gift.

"Anna is dead." Arie didn't even try to soften the bite of her words or the obvious contempt that burned in her eyes. "Anna died years ago after I came here seeking help."

The noble woman reacted as if Arie had slapped her. A small and very vicious part of Arie took no small amount of pleasure in that reaction. She watched as the other woman's lip trembled.

"Please, I don't want to hurt my husband."

"Your guards won't let me near. Sir Nealan will be able to put things right."

Arie cocked her head to the side. This woman had spent days cooped up in her room. Isolating, Arie realized with a jolt. Her step grandmother had realized something wasn't right and had deliberately been keeping people at bay. But she still needed to eat. A quick glance around the room showed a tipped over breakfast tray hidden partially under the couch. It's food and tea now spread under the table and under the couch.

Arie didn't dare check to see if Nadia had done as she had asked for fear of drawing attention to the servant. Instead, Arie inspected her step grandmother's condition. Black poison did indeed cover her heart, even her blood ran thick with it. She couldn't understand why this noblewoman wasn't reduced to a puppet. Why hadn't Ark taken control of her, Arie wondered. Then she remembered what the other woman had said. 'I don't want to hurt my husband.' and 'My husband can't come... can't see me like this."

She had to bite back the swear that nearly burst from her lips. This woman had been using her devotion to her husband as a shield against mind control. Arie could have laughed at herself. Hadn't she herself said it? 'Your strength determines how quickly the symptoms manifest... I don't mean the strength of you arms.' Her grandmother was living proof of everything she said.

"When was the last time you ate with your husband, Lady?"

There was a pained expression on the Lady's face as she struggled to recall. Her lips moved like she was counting back in her mind. After a tense minute or two Lady Judith raked a hand through her hair.

"I don't know. Just that we had the prince's wife," she made antsy fitful motions with her hand as if to wave the memory back into her mind. "I can't remember her name." Panic was steadily rising in her voice.

Arie snapped to the elder of the two guards, who looked the least baffled by what was going on. "When was the princess last here?"

"Um, two and half months ago now." He looked to his Lady in confusion. At the very least he realized something was not right with his mistress. The other guard still glowered at Arie, but at least he had dropped the point of his sword so it wasn't aimed at Arie.

It took everything in Arie not to swear. If Edith had been infected for a couple weeks to a month then this was-. Arie didn't even have words for how bad this was. She needed to act quickly if she was going to save Imrah's wife. She needed-.

"What's going on here?"Sir Nealan's voice made them all jump.

"The Lady is infected."

Both guards growled at Arie. The youngest raised his sword again and stepped forward.

"Stop!" This time it was Arie's step grandmother who had spoken. "Please, help me. I don't want to hurt anyone."