Zusia, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

Somehow, Stephanie slept. She awoke with aching limbs to the sound of the cell door creaking open, and she quickly sat up, surprised when a young girl entered the room. She looked like a fifth-year — ten years old — and she bore the dragonmark on her left cheek. She seemed familiar somehow, with her near-black hair and sun-kissed complexion. The girl was slow in approaching her, licking her lips nervously. The door hung open behind her, and Stephanie noted that no soldiers stood in the doorway. She was alone with this mysterious girl.

"Hello," Stephanie whispered. What was this? It nearly felt like a dream.

"Hello, Princess," the girl replied timidly, giving a poor excuse for a curtsy. She looked tentative, but she suddenly rushed forward, startling Stephanie. She held out an envelope to her. "A letter. He wanted you to have this, and if you say yes, then to come out and meet him at the end of the hallway."

Stephanie frowned, accepting the envelope, a shiver running down her spine. "Who?"

The girl shook her head quickly. "I-I'm sorry, Princess, I can't say." She backed toward the door, about ready to scramble away.

Stephanie clutched the envelope, unable to tear her eyes away from the girl. Why did she look so familiar? "Wait," she blurted out before the child could run. "What's your name?"

The girl gnawed on her bottom lip, looking frightened. "Jules." With that, she ran, leaving the cell door open.

The name wasn't familiar. The face, though... Stephanie didn't understand the nagging familiarity she felt, so she pushed it out of her mind and turned her attention to the letter the girl had given her. With trembling fingers, she ripped it open and pulled out a sheet of paper. Neat handwriting scrawled across the page. The swirling signature at the bottom was yet another thing she didn't recognize. She turned her attention to the letter itself.

Dear Stephanie,

I know you don't know me, but I would like to be truthful with you right from the start. That's the only way trust is built, isn't it? Therefore, I'll be transparent with you so that you can know for a fact that you can trust me. I ask, firstly, that you'll forgive me. I ask, secondly, that you will listen to my words.

It's the only way any of us will survive what is about to happen.