"Just though here." Xavier pushed the door open with his cane, and stepped inside, seemingly waiting for them to follow. Harriet walked through the doorway, glancing around the room. It looked normal enough, but normal enough for a testing room, or a... cell. White porcelain tiles lined the walls, and the same light source that was in the tunnels seemed to be here. Except, it was harsh and blue. It confused her. The whole place seemed to be cobbled together with no rhyme or reason to it. It was like it had a mind of it's own. She took another look around, and her eyes landed on a shape, crouched in the corner.

Their hair grew dirty and matted, falling over their face and obscuring their features. In fact, she couldn't tell if they were male or female, hell, who knew if they were even human? They seemed to draw into them self, trying to seem as small as possible. She took a tentative step towards them, but Xavier's staff flew upwards, blocking her path.

"I would not do that." He said.

Harriet turned around to look at him, narrowing her eyes. Xavier stared back down at her, looking at her with a curious intensity. "You said they were compliant."

"Compliant to Darian, maybe, but not us." He replied, moving his cane back, and spreading an arm out. "You may try  talk to him, just do not get your hopes up."

Harriet tilted her head towards him, and cautiously stepped forward. She had no real idea of why she was doing this, but she wanted to see firsthand what would happen. It had always been a problem with her. The other's eyes seemed to burn holes in her back as she continued to walk. Then, he sprang up and ran at her, landing a punch on her jaw. The power of his swing made her stumble backwards. She was unprepared. She had taken harder hits, and the dull pain was beginning to fade already. The man, no, the boy had retreated back to the corner and sank back down to the floor.

"Wha' the fuck, man?"

Harriet looked back, and saw Mina glaring at Xavier with her arms crossed across her chest. She knew that look. Usually, it signified a very pissed off rune master, and it was most definitely a sign that you should get your ass out of the room before she managed to destroy your life either with a paintbrush or a cake knife.

Xavier looked down at her, sneering slightly. "She would not have listened."

"Doesn't matter." She replied shortly, and sighed, nodding to the boy. "What d'ya want us to do?"

Harriet looked between the two, glad that they had... resolved it. If you could even say that. They still seemed to be locked in a silent standoff, neither of them willing to turn away. Xavier looked surprise that Mina hadn't broken her gaze, but if Harriet was the sort of person who would fight you upfront, then Mina would fight you mentally. As usual, Xavier looked away and cleared his throat.

"Kill the king."

Kill the King? Harriet just stared, open mouthed at the man in front of her. Kill the King. The King.

"What do y'mean?" Mina grinned, looking confused.

"I am pretty sure I already said it. Kill my brother, the king."

The others had the same reaction as her, she could feel it. She could see Caleb out the corner out of her eye, and he looked like he was struggling to form words. At least he was better than earlier.

"Wha...? We can't... We can't- tha' that is treason." She spluttered, her eyes widening.

Harriet cut in. "Why?" God be damned if she was going to kill the King without a good reason.

Xavier sighed dramatically and tapped his cane on the ground. "Because otherwise the country will be turned into a troupe of mindless slaves with double digit IQs. Happy?"

"Why us?" She pressed.

She could practically feel him smoulder. Xavier clenched his hands around his cane and grit his teeth. "Our resources are too limited to allow us to get past his security. You, however," He looked to Kadriq, "are the closest you can possibly get to him."

The mage didn't reply, instead scuffing his foot on the ground and looking downwards. If he wasn't saying anything just to keep up his bloody reputation, then they'd have problems. Xavier was talking about assassinating the fucking King, and if that wasn't the highest form of treason, she didn't know what was.

The sound of the door opening made her jump, and she turned around to look at the newcomer.

Katroina.

Her mouth went dry. She was in on this, too? Harriet shouldn't have been surprised, but she was. From what she had seen of Katroina, she seemed more like one of the cutthroat lawyers that lived in the richer parts of London, not a... Not a rebel.

Katroina only spared her a quick glance, before turning to Xavier and giving him a grim look. "Dad, they are here."

Dad?

I'm pretty sure that's what she said, yes.

She narrowed her eyes at Kadriq, but looked back at Katroina, tilting her head slightly. If she was Xavier's daughter, that would make the King her... Uncle? Yes, it would. Now, she could see the resemblance. Her eyes were the same icy blue as her father's, except less intense. They had the same demeanor, too. Royalty. Disgraced royalty.

Xavier looked sharply over at them. "They know we have them?"

"Why else would they be here?"

"Take them to the armory. Go." He ushered them to the door, and once they were outside, slammed it behind them.

Harriet took a second to look around, before following Katroina. She had so many questions, but for now they could wait. Screams and crunches echoed around the base, but they didn't take notice. It was quite normal. It shouldn't be normal.

She realized that she had slowed down, and broke into a sprint to catch up with the others. Blood seemed to seep through the floor, staining almost every possible surface. Out the corner of her eye, she could see a man collapse to the floor, a knife embedded into his leg. They ran through more corridors than she could continue, before Katroina led them up a flight of stairs and let them stop. She peeked around the top, and instantly paled. Ducking back behind the wall, she turned to them.

"Go back downstairs and along the second corridor on the left. Keep running and only stop once you get to the next flight of stairs. If I'm not there, look for the storage cupboard." She hissed, and gave Mina a small shove.

Harriet nodded quickly and, trying to keep the instructions in her head, turned back down and ran. She didn't know if the others were behind her, she only hoped they were.

Second corridor...

The halls seemed to be littered with bodies, some uniformed, some not. She slowed and crouched down beside one of the ones with a uniform, and checked the insignia.

The King.

"Nice of you to join us, Harriet."

A/N:

Hi again! Sorry for the long wait, school's a bitch UwU