13 days. It had been 13 exhausting days since she had been found betraying the government. Ailith obediently followed Clarice’s orders. She had to or her friend would die. Tomorrow, she was to pack and head out to Orbournth. She would stay at the palace with the royal family as an ambassador. This was her cover story. That she was visiting shortly to discuss a supposed peace treaty between the country and kingdom. However, behind their backs, she would be collecting info on them and sending it back to Clarice. The rest of her team would sneak in through one of the secret passageways that Ailith discovered whilst her stay and they would proceed to assassinate the royal family and set fire upon the palace. The plan was that by the time they were well out of the reaches of the kingdom, the palace would be a blazing inferno. Ailith would be proclaimed ‘dead’ with the rest of the royal family and the blame would be placed on an ignorant chef.

Ailith pinched the bridge of her nose. As much as she hated the idea of having to place the blame on an innocent man, she knew very well that it was her only choice. He and his entire family would most likely be executed because of her.

‘No, it’s worth it if it means I can have Xavier back.’

With that thought spinning in her head, AIlith went to bed, confident in what she had to do.

Her alarm rang earlier this morning and it took her a minute to remember where she was. When she did, Ailith sprang up from her bed. It was the day. After 2 extra weeks of gruesome training and working out, she was ready to head to Orbournth. Taking a deep breath, Ailith scanned her room. There was not much to bring, really. Clarice had packed her a bag with decent looking clothes so she would look the part and placed weapons in hidden compartments. Her clothes were also said to have many pockets, concealed and hidden. Only those who knew they were there would know. She had yet to try on anything however, Alex said she had time to experiment with the dress on the plane. She wasn’t particularly looking forward to that bit. God knew she hated dresses, skirts, and anything that restricted her movement or slowed her down. She groaned just thinking about having to wear dresses and skirts for all those days.

“Are you awake?” came a hesitant voice from the other side of the metal door. Alex.

“Yeah, I am.”

He cleared his throat. “We’re heading straight for the airport after breakfast. You’ll find that everything you need is on the plane. “

“Alright.” she grumbled in reply.

A tray slid in through the slit in the door. It was the usual that she got every morning. Oatmeal, bread, and milk. Ailith groaned in annoyance. “Hey. Can’t you give me something a bit more decent on a day like this?”

“Everything you consume is monitored by our health department. You’re given foods that aid in your training and benefits your health. Should your diet change, it could affect you both physically and mentally. I would assume that ‘on a day like this’ you wouldn’t want to be in anything but your best shape. So no, you may not get a different meal set for breakfast.”

“Geesh, you could’ve just said no.”

AIlith reluctantly finished her oatmeal. Hopefully she would be able to try some real food at the palace. She was starting to get sick of having to consume the same food every day.

The plane took off smoothly. Not surprisingly, Clarice had just happened to have a private jet lying around that wasn’t being used. At least she got to travel in comfort, for the days ahead would be anything but. Just as she was starting to get cozy, she heard a *Thunk*.

Ailith looked to her right. Alex had dropped a dress onto the seat adjacent to her.

“There’s a bathroom in the back.” was all he said before he returned to his own seat.

Ailith was still hurt from his betrayal but she was healing faster due to the frequent betrayals she faced. She sighed and headed for the bathroom. The rustling and strain of the dress as she tried to put it on made it evident that she was not accustomed to the lifestyle. Hopefully no-one at the palace would notice. After a painstaking 15 minutes, she stepped out. Alex was waiting outside. He gave her a once over and nodded, seemingly satisfied with her appearance. “ Get back to your seat. We’re landing in 5 minutes.”