Necrokeep stood just as Alice remembered it—walls stained that familiar deep mossy green, mist curling thick around the battlements, every gate barred and guarded twice as strict as before. She slipped back in unseen just after sundown, her robes shifting colour to blend perfectly with the shadows, extra hands reaching out to unlatch side doors or step right between patrols so they walked straight past her without a clue. She moved through halls she’d run as a girl, past spots where she and Hestia used to argue or clash in training, until she found her standing alone out on the highest watch tower, staring out toward the Fallen Lands. “You still stand guard over everything, don’t you?” Hestia spun round fast, hand flying straight to the sword at her hip. Her eyes went wide then narrowed sharp as a blade. “Alice… I thought… everyone thought you died during that raid all those years ago.” “Left is more like it,” Alice said, stepping out fully, looking every bit the Empress she now was. “Found somewhere that actually wanted what I have to offer. Somewhere that didn’t keep me locked up like some dangerous stray.” “Somewhere in the Abyss I take it?” Hestia shot back, stepping closer, voice tight with anger and old hurt. “You vanished when we needed every hand we could get. And now you come back walking like you own the place. What are you really doing here?” Alice just smiled that cool, knowing smile. “Checking on the walls. Checking on the Queen. Making sure I know exactly what still stands in our way. Funny isn’t it? You spent all those years looking down on me… and now here I am, part of the force that could bring all this crumbling down if we wanted.” Before Hestia could reply or call for guards, Alice stepped back and dissolved almost into thin air. “Don’t worry Hestia. We’ll meet properly soon enough. And this time… you won’t have the upper hand.” Hestia stood there long after she was gone, a cold knot settling in her chest. She’d always known Alice was powerful. She’d never guessed she would come back as their greatest threat of all.

Chapter 10: Forgotten Memories, Unexpected Réunion.