“Yeah, no. Sit back down,” the leading Spirit said.

“Huh…?” Avice asked wide-eyed.

“Y’heard me. You need to sleep. You can’t go out and do the stuff I asked for as you are right now.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What’s with the better treatment, now?” she asked. “Why’re you being so-”

“Don’t get any ideas, lady,” the Spirit said mockingly. “If you die right away, then that won’t be any fun.” It circled around her. She tried grabbing at it, but her hand flew right through it. It cackled. “Wait until tomorrow. Then you can start. Have a good night.”

“It’s still the damn morning you bastard!” Avice yelled. One by one, the Spirits flickered out of her gaze, and she was eventually met with the usual empty air. “Dammit,” she grumbled as she kicked the dirt beneath her. She glared at the ocean of trees swaying before her. “They can’t stop me if I want to do it, right?” she said with a wicked smile as she stomped towards the trees. 

As she was about to step her foot into the forest, a huge wall of green light erupted before her. She fumbled backwards and fell on her butt. 

“What the hell?!” she yelped in surprise. She quickly got back up and gaped at the ever-growing light. From the wall, it circled around her, lining the entirety of the clearing. And then, it gradually encroached upwards into the sky, forming a massive dome over them. 

“The heck did I say, lady?” The Spirit’s voice echoed in the dome. “Wait for tomorrow. Otherwise I’ll kill you both right here and now.”

She clicked her tongue and threw herself onto the ground. 

What was she supposed to be doing now? 

The Despairity she heard was definitely nearby. The dome was here to keep her locked in, sure, but Avice didn’t know if outsiders could enter or if the Spirits would say “screw it” and lead the Despairities right to them. So all she had to defend herself with was Dall’s sword.

Not only that, she knew that she’d have to borrow it to take care of the monsters and the bandits. She hung her head low. Her body wasn’t in any condition to go around killing things. She bit her lip and meekly raised her head. The sword was right where she had left it. “Might as well see how this goes.”

She stood and walked over to it. Pursing her lips, she gently picked it up. She held its hilt and inspected its shimmering, steel blade. Strange characters were etched into the metal, starting from the bottom and reaching all the way to the tip. Probably the written language in this world, she thought. 

Avice shifted her legs and held the sword in front of her. 

“Keep your back straight and your legs bent! Never blink when you move.”

She flinched at her father’s words echoing in her ears. 

“And keep your movement swift. Cut out all unnecessary action.”

Her breath grew unsteady and her arms started to shiver. “It’s okay. It’s okay. He’s not here right now,” she whispered to herself as she pressed her left arm against her right. Her fingers brushed up against her slave mark. “Can’t hurt you if he’s not here.” 

She swung the sword as she stepped forward. As she did so, the sword went further than she intended, and she nearly dug it into her leg. She got out of the way as she let go of it. Avice grumbled and stretched her neck. 

“Okay then…”

She bent down and picked it up again. 

Avice stood ready once more. 

I’ll try diagonal this time… 

She raised the sword and swung downwards to the left. However, instead of the sword stopping, her body continued with the momentum and she twirled around with it.

“What the hell?!” she yelled as she dropped the sword. “Why’s it so heavy?” She questioned if she would even be able to use it. Then she noticed that her entire body felt a bit sluggish, and before she knew it, her eyes struggled to stay open. “Dammit,” she said. 

That was when she decided she needed to sleep. She took the sword with her as she approached the trunk of a tree a couple of feet away from Dall and sat down against it. Resting the sword right next to her, she leaned her head back onto the rough and prickly bark and sighed.

This sucks, she thought. I gotta get home.

Her friends were waiting for her. The only people in the world she trusted were there. And no matter what she had to get home. With those as her remaining thoughts, she shut her eyes, and succumbed to her need to rest.

“Avice,” a voice echoed, pulling Avice out of her sleep. She blinked slowly as she rose when she found herself lying down in an empty, black, space. It was identical to the pure white space she was in before. Avice calmly stood and looked around, but the only thing that greeted her was a vast and never-ending void. “You’re back…” the voice continued. 

She paused for a moment. She could swear to herself that she’d never heard this voice before, and yet it still felt all too familiar. “Who… who are you?”

“How am I to know?” the voice said. It was the sweet, calm, and serene voice of a woman. “It’s been far too long.” The voice grew closer to her, and Avice’s spine chilled. She turned around, but nothing was there. “You have to find… find me, Avice. Help me.” The black space morphed and warped, and a shimmering white light appeared in front of her. Avice squinted at the sudden brightness, but something forced her eyes open. Her heart danced in her chest and she clenched her fists. The light melted, and where it was was now an image of a forest. The image shifted, and then it showed a stone structure standing tall in the center of the area. “Please come. I know you can.”

Avice shook her head. “What the hell’s going o-”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?!” another voice boomed. The shimmering image disappeared, and the black world around her began to crumble, just as before with the white space. And this voice. This voice, unlike the previous one, was one that Avice was all too familiar with. 

She found herself standing in the center of her old classroom, right where her beaten and battered desk usually sat. She spun around, trying to make sense of what was going on when her eyes landed on a disgusting, grotesque sight. As soon as she saw it, she wanted to keel over and throw everything up and empty her stomach. Tears fell down her cheeks and she cursed loudly. 

“Just ‘cause our little princess isn’t here doesn’t mean you can go accusing me of a crime.” 

It was him. The man she feared and hated above anyone else she’d ever known. His short blond hair, his smooth, white skin, his ice-cold eyes… everything about him terrified her to the core. And there he was standing over three beaten and bloodied people. And she knew, without even taking a closer look at them, that they were her friends. “Trent, you bastard!” Avice screamed with all her strength. “What did you do?!” 

She hoped that she was dreaming. The blackness and the strange voice she heard earlier should have clued her in that she actually was dreaming, but the scene before her robbed her of her rational thought. Trent turned around, revealing blood splattered across his face and covering his hands. People started filing into the room, and they all pointed at her and began to laugh. “Hello there, Avice,” his vile voice slurred. “This is what happens when you don’t listen to me.” The room trembled and the world turned to red. 

“Trent!” Avice screamed as she woke up. Sweat drenched her clothes, and her hair was in a mess. Her mouth was dry and she gasped for air. She batted her eyes and wiped away the tears that had been streaming down her face. “Shit,” she said as she curled herself into a ball and grabbed her head. “Damn it. Damn it!” she growled. 

“Hey there, Lady. Ready to start?” The Spirit blinked into existence. 

Avice, with a menacing glare in her eyes, stood and grit her teeth. “I can’t waste any time. Let’s get your damn jobs done.”