Training sessions with an excellent teacher.

I felt strong metallic arms pulling me, and for a moment, I thought it might be the armor itself. With agility, I was taken to a secret room hidden within the wall. My vision took a moment to adjust to the darkness, and just as I was about to scream, cold, thin steel fingers covered my mouth.

"Quiet! Do you want to die?"

The lanterns flickered to life, revealing three people at the table. One was Rafar, another was a robot (there was literally nothing human left about him), and the third was a woman with dark brown eyes, purple-dyed hair, and no apparent robotic parts. I turned around to face my savior—or perhaps my captor. Carmen watched me with the same cold, emotionless expression as always.

"Darling, I hope nothing terrible happened on the way," Rafar said, and I felt my face flush.

"Well, actually..." I started but was interrupted by Carmen.

"The king's next target is you, master. And in the future, Princess Mai as well."

Rafar let out a long sigh, his gaze shifting from the table to meet mine.

"Well, I suppose you've figured it out. My father intends to eliminate anyone who could claim his throne. And because you're my fiancée, you're also one of his targets."

I felt a lump in my throat before answering.

"I understand... What happened to the queen?"

At that moment, everyone averted their gaze, and the atmosphere grew somber.

"Her head is at the castle gate, miss," Carmen replied, shrinking slightly.

"But... because of me?" I asked, feeling a pang of guilt. Rafar shook his head.

"The attack she made was just an excuse for the king to get rid of her. My father never loved her," he reflected for a moment before continuing. "To be honest, I don’t think he’s ever loved anything in this life besides his own throne."

The lanterns flickered erratically, even though there was no wind. The lack of circulating air made me feel uneasy.

"Where are we?" I asked, observing everyone around me.

"In the revolutionaries' secret meeting room," the robot replied in a mechanical voice. "I am Cypher, Princess."

"And I’m Paty. I hope to serve you soon, my future queen," added the woman with purple hair.

"Do we have any other allies?" I asked hopefully. I might not know much about war, but I was certain of one thing: five people were far too few to stop a bloodthirsty king.

"The entire army, and a few Lacorda nobles," Paty said, her expression brightening with hope.

"Did you forget me?" A voice entered the room, leaving me speechless. Alice stepped inside, her round pink eyes surveying everyone.

"You’re just a ghost now. Not much use to us," Rafar said, and everyone laughed, prompting the little girl to cross her arms.

"I can do great things! Just wait until I get my body back and... oh, hi Mai!" she exclaimed upon seeing me, smiling. "Have you made any progress in finding my body?"

I was at a loss for words. Everyone in that room could see Alice, see that she was there—even Rafar. I wondered why he had never mentioned his ghostly sister to me. On top of that, I hadn’t imagined Alice expected me to recover her body so soon. After all, I would need to be much stronger to do so.

"Can everyone here see you?" I asked in surprise, looking around. "And... how can I possibly recover your body? I still feel so weak..."

I confess I had imagined all the power flooding into me at once, as happens with the heroine in the game. At no point had I considered that I would need to train for it.

"Of course, we can. This is Princess Alice," Carmen replied indifferently.

"Our mission is also to retrieve our princess’s stolen body," Paty said, nodding.

"Not to mention, she’s so cute," Cypher added, earning a slap to the head from Alice.

"Well... now that you’re part of our club, I can train you without any more headaches," Alice said, giving me an intimidating look. Or rather, she tried to—because, as Cypher had pointed out, Alice was too adorable to be taken seriously.

"Wait! She has to agree to this first!" Rafar stood and positioned himself in front of me. "Ask P L E A S E , S I S T E R."

Alice turned her head away and crossed her arms.

"I refuse!"

"Then you won’t get any help. Shall we, everyone?" Rafar signaled for everyone to stand, only for Alice to tug at his vest sleeve.

"Wait!" she shouted, turning to face me with trembling eyes. "Please, sister, help me! Come train magic with me every day!"

I smiled and hugged her tightly, despite her attempts to squirm out of my arms.

"Of course I will!" I exclaimed, smiling.

***

Every day, I would enter the hideout to train with Alice. Gradually, I learned more about my powers and how to control them. At first, I had no idea what the golden glow did or what its effects were. I realized it functioned like a kind of mastery.

If my goal was to heal with my power, I had to train solely for that. Fighting, shooting, or even singing—everything had to be trained and mastered so that I could use my abilities perfectly.

"She’s ready," Alice declared during one of the meetings, her smile full of pride. "I’ve taught my apprentice everything I know."

"But it’s only been three weeks!" Paty protested.

"I’m an excellent teacher," Alice said, raising her nose proudly.

"Alice... no one learns that fast," Rafar remarked, pulling his sister’s ear, prompting her to look down.

"Alright, alright. Mai Hutz is a genius, I admit it."

"I... what?" I asked, confused.