The rest of the day is hazy, and she spends the hours after the painstaking ordeal of having her face cleaned with boiled wine and water and sewn with catgut down in the Katolis castle's infirmary fading in and out of consciousness and in and out of dreams.

All her dreams are fire, burning. In front of her she visualizes seeing her home, her castle burn... the library wing she spent so many hours reading books on foundries and swords and making weapons and armor for people meant for more adventurous lives than she was ever meant to all to cinders. She sees her childhood room, the bed, the little toys, the wooden doll she dressed perhaps even more lovingly than herself melted.

And the faces... the faces. That's what scares her the most. It's almost like she can smell their burning flesh, the sickening, searing scent. The man and the woman who attempted to hurt her and snuff her out shift, shift into her mother she barely knew, the father who raised her. The king who helped make her into the young woman she was today nothing but ashen ruins. She sees Sarai, her godmother, and King Harrow... King Harrow had always been kind to her, hadn't he?Seen her as family and like a cousin to his sons Callum and Ezran... kind and now, dead.

The sight of all of them, of her father, of him, of Sarai, of the boys she'd seen as little brothers, burning alive in front of her makes her want to scream... and yet she can't. A thousand times she's in that room, suddenly going ablaze and seeing those she loves caught in that deadly fire.

What does this mean?

She cries, unable to save them from herself and this... this newfound part of her. Why now, why this?

And then she sees him... no. Oh no.

"Kimiko?"

"Soren!"

"Why am I-"

"Please." The tears in her eyes and the fear seem so real, it feels like she's experiencing it in real time. "Leave me-"

"I can't-"

"Soren, you have to go-"

"Stay with me."

"I wish I could." Kimiko gulps hard, tasting salt.

"Kimiko?"

"Yes?"

"Kimiko... Kimiko...Kimiko-"

And she rises.

Moving around a little, she sits up straight. Her silk dress has been replaced by a long and shapeless pale down. The mattress is comfortable enough, if not a little stiff. She can see the grounds and surrounding town a little from the window... which is much lower than the tower she'd previously been in.

The voice she heard... how familiar... in fact, it's...

"Soren!Relax, she's up. You don't need to check again."

"I know, I know, but Claudia..."

"You know I can hear you, right?Like, everything you're saying. " Despite everything, it feels good to laugh. Claudia and Soren are welcome sights. "Right here guys. Just stating the obvious."

"I made muffins." Claudia sits down on a chair by her side and grins, passing a plate of muffins. Kimiko takes a strawberry one, turning it in her palm as Claudia continues."I mean...when your friend almost gets killed by mysterious assassins almost the same day the king you and your family were supposed to be protecting, you gotta have baked goods at the ready, right?"

"Ohhhkaaay." Soren drawls, backing from his sister slowly. "Not sure if that's the tone you wanna go for exactly but-"

"I get the gist." Kimiko assures as she breaks off a piece of the muffin and munches softly. Whatever she thought about dark magic... she had to hand it to Claudia (and dark magic by proxy, sort of). These muffins were delicious. Maybe best if she didn't think about how they came about, but.

"You seem to be in good spirits." Claudia being Claudia. Chipper as ever, of course.

"I think the worst is over." Kimiko says this haltingly. Of course, it's probably not true... but she's safe at least. For now.

"You almost broke my wrist trying to get the last jelly tart... multiple times. After sparring for hours." Soren retorts. Is that pride in his eyes? "If anyone's a trooper, it's you."

"Thanks." Kimiko smiles, finding it easier. "I thought you were going to leave. That you both... left already."

"Couldn't leave without making sure you were okay-" Soren leans down at her other side, reaching a hand out to touch her face. Kimiko catches it, holding his hand. "I mean, uh... Claudia would never let us. You know how it is."

Kimiko nods, almost a little too solemnly, teasing. "Right." Silence.

For a moment, they stay this way, hand in hand. Gaze locked. She's not sure how this makes her feel, exactly, but his hand is warm in hers, a little rough and calloused but a soothing pressure nonetheless.

"Anyways," Claudia notes with a cough. "We should get going. But it was nice to see you're... okay." She leans down, hugging Kimiko. That makes her smile, and so she hugs her back.

The two of them leave without much fanfare... and for a moment it seems like Soren wants to say something else, something more. But he doesn't.

This is a crazy idea, Kimiko knows this is a completely crazy idea. Of course she does. How could she not.

Despite the fact she's given the okay to go back to her room, it doesn't feel safe, feel right. She looks around at the scorch marks on the floor and the dagger and it's like no time has passed. The scent of her blood is too strong, even if the room has been cleaned.

She can't stay here, that's clear. She has to leave, find those assassins, help find the princes, do something that doesn't make her worry about staying in this castle and wondering who to trust.

Soren. Claudia. She has to find them. Maybe she'll find some answers eventually, but she needs her friends with her. She needs to make sure Ezran and Callum or safe. Maybe then she'll be in a better state of mind.

Searching through the dresser, she finds the dagger. Kimiko sucks her breath in as the weapon that almost claimed her life, and examines it. Really examines it for a while. She turns it in her hand... it's bronze, curved and cruel but nothing all that special. Almost crude, and old. Nothing really jumps out at her about it until she sees the tiger carving at the bottom. It's small, almost like an insignia, and perhaps one wouldn't notice it. But to her it means something... she's not sure what.

She decides to stuff it into a bag, along with a bunch of other items:small things, a change of clothes, a map, some parchment, some gold.

Maybe it will help her find some answers. Find something, anyway.

——

What time is it, twilight?Dusk? Despite the lateish hour, the sun's still up in the sky. The spring sun burns bright.

Kimiko takes a deep breath, fastening her dark cloak.

It has to be now, it has to be today.

Throughout the castle, she moves in a blur, careful to avoid detection. She makes one stop.. she leaves a letter on her father's desk in his room, sealed with her heart. Kimiko hopes... prays... that the explanation will be enough. (Kimiko only hopes that she's not breaking his heart yet again.)

Opening the grate, she slides her way into the passageway she'd convinced Ezran to show her a lifetime ago. (Convincing him that any jelly tarts she'd get she'd half with him had been enough, almost too well.)

It's dark but she doesn't mind... she doesn't feel the cold so much either. It's a little too easy a squeeze, but she figures that it's one of those few times she doesn't mind her height or size or lack thereof.

One final shimmy out, and she's out of the grate. Taking down her riding hood, she looks around. Kimiko is face to face with the baker... and despite the confusion she feels, she can't help but smile.

"Hello."

"W-Princess Kimiko!" He starts to kneel, but she stops him.

"That's not necessary. Really." Kimiko looks around at the loaves, the bread. It feels so familiar. How many times has she been here?It makes her smile, thinking about the summers where she'd come in everyday and smell the fresh bread and, most importantly, the jelly tarts.

"You wouldn't happen to have any jelly tarts on hand, would you?"

"Oh... well, yes, but they're from today."

Kimiko takes out some gold, leaving it on a counter. "Just some apple and strawberry ones would be good. I'm going on a journey."

"By yourself?" He folds his arms, looking at her quizzically. She can't blame him, she supposes.

"I'll be fine. I won't be alone for long." Placing a hand on his shoulder, she looks up and gives the baker a smile. "I have my friends. I'm going to find them."

"If you say so... Wait."

Kimiko cocks her head to one side.

"You don't like apple tarts, do you?"

Kimiko awkwardly laughs. "I mean, I do-sometimes."

The baker nods, rubbing his chin. "No, it's usually that other one, the boy you come in with... Tall blond strapping fella, not all too bright?"

"Soren." His name comes too easily to her lips... almost automatically. It makes her flush.

"Right right." As he speaks, he goes to get a sack... ostensibly to fill jelly tarts in. She watches him take out the tray of jelly tarts, placing a few inside. He hands her the sack, which she places in her bag.

"Thanks." Tiny but firm hand lays out a few gold pieces on the counter.

"Say hello to them for me."

Kimiko nods, knowing that the baker has a soft spot for Soren and Claudia... and Ezran, despite his gripping about his pastry theft.

"I will."

"Have you seen-""No, sorry."

"Alright, thanks."

It's been like this throughout the day. No luck. Kimiko sits down on a bench, propping up her chin. Soren and Claudia couldn't have gone far, could they? But so far, no one's seen any sign of them.

Just then, she notices something... or someone. A flash of black, clear against the sky. A moving shadow.

Wait a minute.

That flash of a ring on that thief's hand looks familiar. The gold, the windng snake. It had Claudia all over it.

Abruptly, Kimiko stands up.

The shadow moves, and moves quickly. It's hard for Kimiko to catch up but it's easier than she thought it would be all the same. It's... almost invigorating.

Skulking, skulking. Kimiko has to hide almost as much as this phantom, trying her best to blend in with the city's walls and waiting for the right moment to strike. The burglar jumps, dodging to and fro, and so does she.

Finally, the confrontation.

Kimiko's breathless, climbing up a roof, jumping from window to window... Well, it's not something she's done before, but she gets the hang of it as she moves from window to window and using the ledges as support. She's not quite as nimble as this one... She's convinced they're part alley cat. But she manages.

"You're surrounded."

"Who are you?" The other pulls down a hood, revealing a blond face with black markings around her cheeks. Blonde girl cocks her head, fixing Kimiko with a gaze that's equal parts disdain and disbelief.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Listen, I don't know you you are-"

"You will. " Kimiko saunters toward them. "Give back what you stole. Give me the ring." Kimiko's hands extend.

A sharp laugh. "And why would I do that?"

"You want riches?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

Kimiko ignores this. "I'm a princess."

"You?The shrimp?"

"I could help you, if it's jewels or anything else you're after. Something worth more than one ring."

"And I'm supposed to believe you."

Kimiko breathes in, long and deep. "Just help me give back the ring and I promise I'll make it up to you. No strings attached." She looks at the blond, almost beseechingly. "I promise."

The blond girl sighs. "This ring is really that important to you, huh?"

"Yes. Tangentially."

A while later, Kimiko and this girl, who she later learns is named Ashlyn, find themselves walking through a forest.

"I can't say who the person I snitched the ring off of is still here, but it's where I found it."

Kimiko looks around, inhales the scent of the pine. "It's plenty."

"You better make good on your promise." A poke of a sharp finger into her chest.

"I will."

And just like that, Ashlyn disappears into the trees, leaping.

Looking down at the ground and trying to trace steps through the mud, she walks around the forest trying to get some sort of signal... Anything.

And then, a sound. She hears it behind a small thicket of trees.

"And then," a voice cries out in laughter, almost to the point of tears. "The dog says 'that's not bark!"

Bingo.

Moving through the trees, she enters a clearing of the forest where she sees them sitting on a piece of wood and talking to each other as their horses are off to the side and grazing on some meadow flowers.

"Claudia!"

"Kimiko?" The young mage's voice starts out in semi disbelief until turning into one of relief as she approaches. "What are you doing here?"

"Long story." Opening her palm, she hands over the ring. "I believe this belongs to you!"

"Oh! I didn't know that was missing!" Claudia hugs Kimiko tightly, a pressure she returns. "Thank you." Claudia releases her, though she feels Claudia patting her back gently.

It's at this moment Soren stands up. She can't discern his expression, not exactly, but he's looking at her almost like he's in a dream.

"It's... it's... you."

"It's me," she replies softly.