Prince Aurelio was taking a relaxing stroll through a forest near the village of Friedens when he suddenly heard screaming, to which he decided to investigate. As he neared the village, he found a group of men whom he recognized as soldiers from Terresaine terrorizing the area, and when he saw one of them roughing up a young woman, he ran up to him in an attempt to protect her, pulling her from the large soldier's arm and pushing her behind him."Hey! What is the meaning of this?" asked Prince Aurelio. The soldier looked down at him with a blank face."We are under orders from the princess of Terresaine to destroy Friedens and murder the women until the mistress of the prince of Casadell'arte is found. If you do not wish to be harmed, you'd do well to step aside," said the soldier, pushing Prince Aurelio onto the ground before grabbing the woman from before and running his sword through her right in front of him. As he lied there on the ground, in shock and with blood spattered on his face, he couldn't believe that his childhood sweetheart was doing such a thing."Why?..." was all Prince Aurelio could mutter before he suddenly sat up."Alena! I have to go find Alena and get her to safety!" said Prince Aurelio as he got up from the ground. He immediately started running through the village to find Alena's house. Once he got there, he banged on the door like a madman, hoping she was home."Alena!" shouted Prince Aurelio, "Alena! Open up, please!""Aurelio?" said Alena as she opened the door, "What's going on?""Thankfully you're here. If you have a cloak, put it on right now and cover yourself as much as possible. I have to get you out of here. Friedens is in danger.""What? Why?""I'll explain later. Just please hurry and bring something to cover yourself."Alena ran back into the house as Aurelio came through the door and firmly shut it behind him. Afterwards, he kept watch through the front window as he waited for Alena to reappear. But he became anxious when the din of horrific screaming and yelling from the villagers started to sound like it was getting closer to Alena's house. Thankfully, Alena soon appeared in front of him, wearing a long, brown cloak, as well as a scarf around her neck."Wonderful," said Prince Aurelio, putting his hands on Alena's shoulders. "Now let's get out of here, quickly. I will hold your hand the entire way, but you must run as fast as you can. Also, try not to look back at the horrors you will see along the way. I'm going to take you to my house where my attendants are and have them send you to Casadell'arte for the time being.""You-you want me to leave my homeland?" asked Alena."Just for right now, Alena. This doesn't mean that you will never be able to come back, but right now, it's very dangerous here, and I want to keep you safe. Please, you have to trust me, Alena."After hesitating a bit, Alena agreed to go with Prince Aurelio and leave Friedens. And without any further delay, Prince Aurelio grabbed Alena's hand and ran out the front door. They ran through the village as fast as they possibly could without stopping once or looking back. And as much as the screams, slain bodies, and destruction horrified her, Alena managed to keep a straight face, with her cloak and scarf pulled over it.When they finally made it to where Prince Aurelio was staying, the prince was immediately bombarded with questions from his attendants."Your Highness! What is happening?" one of the attendants asked, "There is screaming and other commotion raging throughout the village. Are you hurt anywhere? Is everything ok?"The attendants then noticed the presence of Alena and observed her quizzically because of what she was wearing."And who's this?" the same attendant asked."Her identity doesn't matter right now," said Prince Aurelio, "What does matter right now is her safety. I need you to transport her safely to Casadell'arte, quickly.""What?! But what about you, Your Highness?!" the attendant protested."Don't worry about me! Just do what I said! Get the carriage ready, now!"As the attendants left to prepare things, Prince Aurelio pulled Alena into a hug."Alena. No matter what happens, I want you to know that I will always be there for you," said Prince Aurelio, "You have proven to be such a wonderful girl towards me, Alena. And so...I want to do the best that I can to protect you. I-I love you, Alena.""...Aurelio," whispered Alena as Prince Aurelio's entourage reentered the room."Your Highness. The carriage is ready," said one of the attendants."Good," responded Prince Aurelio, "Now go with them, Alena. I will see you soon."Alena ran towards Prince Aurelio's entourage and, looking back at him one last time, left the room. Meanwhile, Prince Aurelio went back outside, his purpose unknown. All he could do was run through the village amidst all the chaos again, grief stricken at everything he saw. He continued to run until he came across a hill that overlooked the entirety of the village. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Prince Aurelio walked up the hill, stopping once he reached the top, and gazed down at the disaster that the village of Friedens ended up becoming."Annabelle," muttered Prince Aurelio, shaking his head in disgust, "You will surely pay for this. You will."Back in Terresaine, Alexiel was in the castle library, perusing books on the history of the country's mages. As much as he didn't want to believe that Princess Annabelle utilized the magical powers of a mage to create the book she had, he just had to know the true answer for sure. And if she did utilize magic, how?For most of his time in the library, Alexiel's research proved to be rather unfruitful, as most of the mages in Terresaine's history were executed. However, there was one particular mage who eventually caught his attention. The information shown in the book about her was rather scant, but just enough to tell of her identity. And unlike with the other mages, it is not said that she's been executed, but instead that she simply disappeared."Maybe she went into hiding," thought Alexiel, "And if that's true, there's a possibility that she could still be somewhere here in Terresaine. I would just have to find her. I may not have much information about her currently, but I think her name and history is enough."Shutting his books and standing up from his seat, Alexiel gave himself a new resolve."Alright," said Alexiel, "It's time for me to search for Bernadette, Terresaine's last mage."