[table][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/VgbuqO2.png[/img][/cell][cell][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240522/49791553b35fa05b88864f9127dc2df9.png[/img][/cell][/row]
[row][cell][sub]Location: Royal Home > Into Town[/sub][/cell][/row][/table]Eris descended the steps of the royal home with swift, hurried movements, one hand gripping the folds of her dress to keep it from tangling beneath her feet. Her heart thrummed nervously in her chest. She needed to find Priestess Tingara—and fast.  

As her boots struck the wooden floor of the main hall, fragmented memories of her first meeting with Tia flashed through her mind. Tia’s face, pale and streaked with blood after her ordeal with Willis. The jagged scar marring her neck. The steam from the hot springs wrapping around them like a veil, and Tia’s delicate fingers tracing letters into her palm, urging her to study Willis’ blood. The vividness of those moments had clung to her ever since.  

Instinctively, her hand slipped into the pocket of her coat, curling around hairpins Tia had left behind at the hot spring. Eris had intended to return them, but the blizzard had prevented it. The smooth, cool metal of the pins felt grounding in her palm, a tether to focus her frayed nerves. She fiddled with them as her free hand tugged her hood up as she stepped outside, shielding herself from biting cold and prying eyes. 

She strode through the streets with hurried steps, trying to ignore the heightened activity around her. Guards moved in clusters, their armor clinking in the dim light of torches. Voices carried in the air, sharp with urgency. Somewhere out there, a murderous blight-born prowled the streets. 

Rising panic clawed at her thoughts. She drew a deep breath, her lungs burning as she tried to steady herself. She needed to stay focused. 

[i]Tia[/i]. She needed Tia.  

Guilt pressed heavy against her chest at the thought. Asking something so monumental of the Priestess again felt cruel, especially knowing how drained Tia had been after saving that boy. This would demand almost as much. But this was [i]the Princess[/i]. And together, it might lessen the blow. Eris could offer her mana, bolster Tia’s magic. They could do it. They had to. 

Doubt slithered through her mind, curling into every corner. She saw her brother’s disappointed face in her mind’s eye, his familiar frown cutting deeper into her confidence. She clenched her jaw and made a silent prayer to Aelios for her support.  

The toll of a bell shattered the air, three heavy strikes that sent her heart lurching into her throat. She froze, her steps faltering as her eyes darted toward the town’s center, where the alarm bell stood. Distant shouts of guards calling for order reached her ears. Her hand tightened around the hairpins in her pocket as her breath hitched, trembling fingers gripping the metal like a lifeline.  

For a moment, fear threatened to root her in place. Then she exhaled a shaky breath, forcing herself to move.  

She had a mission. She had to trust that the guards would handle the threat. The guards were vigilant, the streets alive with their light and noise. She would be fine. 

Wouldn’t she?