Steam hissed from my mouth as the bronze patterns across my skin began to fade away. My muscles screamed from exhaustion and I collapsed onto my back. Drained of all energy, the small yellow gem in my hand lost its color. It then crumbed into an ever-growing pile of dust on the floor.

I looked over at the nearby beds where my mom, dad, and even Donte laid. I grit my teeth and forced my exhausted muscles to move. I sat up and grabbed another of the yellow crystals from a small pile nearby. Taking a deep breath, I started absorbing the energy in the new stone.

Our next assault on Ater-Albus had to succeed. I would not leave them like this any longer. I could not fail because of my own weakness.

While my body trained without rest, I was able to see the world through the eyes of the undead under my command. There was still an endless mountain of work before the army was ready to march into the blood mist. Without preparation, the army would fall to corruption before they even reached the walls of the city.

That was not even counting the complete restructure of the coalition into a single unified force. New commanders had to be chosen to replace those that died or fled, broken and damaged equipment needed to be replaced or repaired, and most importantly, we needed enough food and water to support tens of thousands of people through an extended siege. I commanded my undead to help as much as possible. With their tireless efforts, a great deal could be done in much less time, so long as we had the supplies.

I was awoken from directing the undead by the clicking sound of high heels. I opened my eyes to see Marilyn leaning uncomfortably close to me with a charming smile. I instantly felt the slight pull of her innate talent the moment I saw her eyes. It was not a strong pull, not strong enough to influence my actions but enough to see the woman in a more favorable light. I could not even tell if she was doing it on purpose or not. It seemed to be an unconscious ability she always had active.

“You should not be cooped up in here all day,” Marilyn said as she reached out to grab my arm. The crystal in my hand clattered to the ground as she pulled me to my feet. “You should spend time with your big sis and get some fresh air with me.”

“You are not my sister and I have no interest in being a part of whatever it is you have planned. It is better that I am out of sight of the main army. Five decades of propaganda and prejudice have painted me as an enemy to the people out there. Circumstances may have forced them to work with me but their beliefs are not going to change just because we are fighting on the same side.”

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Marilyn said with an exaggerated pout. I instantly felt the pull of her talent become stronger as she took my hand in her own. “You are so focused on increasing your strength but you are completely ignoring me and an entire part of your own power. Come with me and I can show you all the joys people like us can attain.”

I wanted to pull away from Marilyn’s hold on my hand but even though my mind thought about it, I could not actually act. I just stared dumbly at the hand as conflicting emotions raged through my mind. Unable to put up any meaningful resistance, Marilyn easily dragged me towards the door out of the infirmary.

“You do not need to be so obstinate, Wren. I truly am trying to help you. If you would simply stop fighting against your own power, you could accomplish so much more.” Marilyn paused as she pointed back at my dad lying motionless in his bed. “For example, you might even be able to help your dearest daddy wake up. I have talked with the others about his condition and I believe that your talent could truly help him if you would just stop trying to repress it. He is not injured. He is lost and there is no better way to wake someone whose mind is lost than through the light of a loved one.”

My futile resistance collapsed as I looked back at my dad’s rhythmic breathing. “What do I need to do?”

“Well, first, we need to get you cleaned up. As I said before, our talents work best if the emotion we are trying to induce is already present. Right now, the only emotion you are going to invoke in people is pity. I have… convinced a few soldiers with experience in tailoring and hairdressing to help. Once that is done, we will go for a walk through the army and I will show you all sorts of wonderful things.”

Unable, or maye just unwilling to resist, I was dragged to the large baths of Dragon’s nest where my skin was scrubbed intensely until it was a bright pink. When we stepped out, a handful of soldiers were already waiting for us. Their eyes were completely fixated on Marilyn. My own presence was completely ignored as they waited on the woman’s every word.

Marilyn placed a finger under the man’s chin as she whispered. “Would you be a dear and help me turn this wild child into a proper lady? She needs a great deal of help.”

“Yes, of course,” the man shouted excitedly as he gave a rushed salute.

Still entranced by Marilyn myself, I was easily led by the hand as several other men and women began to style my hair and apply a light layer of makeup. I was given a thin white sundress embroidered with blue and green threads that seemed more suited for spring than the current beginning of winter as well as a variety of small accessories. The only thing of mine i was ablt to keep was the small chain bracelt i always kept. I was even more surprised to find that the dress fit perfectly without needing any adjustments. I could not even fathom where she had found the materials to make all this perfectly to my size.

Even with several people working at once the entire process still took nearly an hour. When everyone was completely finished, I felt Marilyn’s pull on my mind begin to lessen. I blinked in confusion as I looked at myself in the mirror. I could not help but marvel at myself for a moment. I almost looked like a completely different person.

However, that moment of admiration quickly faded as irritation flooded my mind. “I told you not to control me like this!”

“You would have complained the entire time if I hadn’t,” Marilyn replied with a shrug, “Don’t you want to help your dad?”

I growled in frustration as I seriously debated attacking the woman but with the possibility of helping Dad hanging over my head, I could not go through with it. I took a long breath as I forcibly suppressed my desire to burn Marilyn. “Fine, you made me look like a porcelain doll. What now?”

“Now, we will simply go for a walk,” Marilyn replied with a delighted smile, “If you are willing to listen to my instructions, just our presence alone will heal the souls of all that see us.”

“And this will help my dad?”

“One step at a time, dear. First, you must learn to walk before you can run.”

“Let’s go then,” I said with a huff.

Marilyn and I exited Dragon’s Nest and moved towards the coalition army. As we walked, Marilyn explained how I can better influence others by degrees. Integrating only part of my talent into my body had a completely different effect than using everything I had at once. This allowed me to exert a more subtle influence on the people around me. If I did it right, even someone skilled in mental abilities would not be able to tell I was directing their actions. According to Marilyn, most people could not feel the pull in their mind like I could. Only those with a similar talent would feel that. So long as I did not completely dominate a person, there would be no sign of what I had done.

Interested in what she had to teach, I followed Marilyn’s instructions. The moment I integrated the blue flame with my body, there was a change in the gazes of the soldiers. The slight curiosity at our passing instantly transformed into devout fascination. Every single one of the soldiers stopped what they were doing to stare at me.

“Still too forceful,” Marilyn chastised, “Influencing others must be subtle. You are not fighting a battle. Do not force anything or all you will get is mindless drones. If that is all you want, your undead are of more use. Instead, think of it like a boat floating down a river. You can use a paddle to adjust the course slightly but the boat must still follow the current.”

I frowned as I adjusted the flames raging through my body. Several people in my surrounding blinked in confusion as they were shaken awake. “Is there a way to protect yourself from being influenced by another person with a similar talent?”

“Of course,” Marilyn replied simply. I waited for several moments but she never elaborated.

“Will you tell me how?”

“Where is the fun in that?” Marilyn said with a grin, “I am sure you will figure it out eventually. Consider it motivation to experiment with your talent.”

I frowned at Marilyn’s reply but knew I could not force the woman to do anything just yet. I had been trying to influence her with my own talent since the moment we started our walk but she never showed any sign of being under its effect. It made me uneasy that she could influence me so effortlessly but negate any attempts for me to do the same to her.

Still, Marilyn was being surprisingly helpful. She explained several key tips for how I could use my talent and had yet to pull any other tricks on me since we left Dragon’s Nest. Maybe she was really being sincere when said she wanted to help me. Not one to turn away a free gift, I took this time to ask Marilyn many of the questions I had about my talent and how it could be used. So long as the answer was not detrimental to her, she was more than happy to answer.

Our presence had a significant impact on the army as well. Soldiers that would have once looked at me with suspicion and distrust now viewed me with open admiration. Seeing their faces, I was starting to understand why Marilyn used her talent so liberally. Being adored by crowds of people was addictive.

Marilyn nodded in satisfaction at my swift growth. “Now that you know how to influence people without them noticing it is time for your first test to see how well you have learned subtlety. With the Demonkin retreating into the blood mist, a large caravan of supplies has been able to slip past their blockade. They should be arriving within the hour. Your test is to approach this supply caravan and convince them to let you get the first pick of what they have before those greedy logistics specialists get their dirty hands all over everything. Do it right and not a single person will find anything suspicious about your actions.”

Warning bells rang in my mind as I realized right away that this was what Marilyn really wanted with this entire excursion but the moment I turned my head to look at her, my mind went blank. The absurd idea that such a perfect woman would ever have an ulterior motive completely slipped my mind.

Marilyn brushed her hand against my neck as she spoke in a soft voice. “You want to learn how to help your daddy, right? First, you must learn how to influence others, then you can help him.”

“Right, I need practice!” I replied with jubilant excitement, “Let’s go see what this caravan has for us!”