Chapter Two

January 25th, 2011

Drumming her fingers on the musty desk and sneaking a look at the clock over on the wall, Rhapsody waited, rather impatiently, for the rest of her story to print out. It still eluded her as to why with mortal technology further advanced than ever and magical technology surpassing even that, it was still a required rule that she and other mages working here were forced to follow by using these obsolete pieces of scrap that would've been welcome on any rubbish pile stretching as far back as the bloody 1970s. But if we use magic printers, then criminal elements might steal it, sell it and publicise it! Then we're one step closer to the Big Secret splashing across mortal news and we'll be fucked. Firstly, Rhapsody possessed qualms to her superior's unsatisfying explanation. The one that sprang earliest to mind was 'magic printers' because what the heck was a magic printer? A machine that released both your desired document and blasted out a couple fireballs while it was at it? Further proof that Rhapsody's boss hadn't the slightest idea what spewed out of her mouth more than half the time.

Second, Rhapsody would be hard pressed to name any such criminal element that'd risk venturing into this shit-heap of a building for a bloody printer. The floors were grimy, the wallpaper peeling and no matter where your office was, the unpleasant stench of the toilets wasn't far away. Not far away enough for Rhapsody's liking, anyway. Beside the overall shabbiness of the building, Rhapsody's doubt didn't stop there. This was the main foundation centre of the Global Link, the centre of all sorcerer news broadcasting and communication in the world. Yes, to strike here was a crippling blow indeed, but the fact was that there were so many outposts, so many reserve stations not to mention ample security and lack of motive or interest, sabotaging or even destroying this place would be nothing more than a blip on the radar. The effect would be less than palpable. Word spread, with or without complicated devices and technology to make sure it did so.

The third point, the 'Big Secret' otherwise known as magic, was a cause for concern. However, for Rhapsody it was just a minor inconvenience. She never needed her magic in public or during the day anyway, unless in the direst of emergencies and the Global Link worked in quite close quarters with the Sanctuary, resulting in the best possible wires crossed. If she or any of her co-workers even suspected that something was amiss, and it never was in the thirty years Rhapsody had been employed there, then a squad of Cleavers and trained sorcerers were there at the drop of a hat. She'd met the Public Relations Sensitives and they were professional and expert at their job, not just nice people. When she thought of it, Rhapsody knew a lot of Sanctuary operatives, and was friends, albeit tentatively so, with a fair few of them. It was a perk of her second job, the one she preferred to keep on the down-low. Truth be told, she just preferred it in general, but she needed to do something to get paid and make a scarce living. God, if only her younger self could see her now. All that wonder at the infinite possibilities that magic led to, only to realise that employment in sorcery was eerily similar to the mundane careers mortals led. Not even the knowledge that the Global Link was one of the most important aspects in keeping all Sanctuaries around the world united assured her. There were so many safeguards in place that Rhapsody could drop a bomb in the Head Overseer's office and obliterate this building and everyone inside it and it wouldn't make a mite of difference. Not that she'd ever do such a thing but knowing some of the morons she encountered in these dirty corridors, she'd be a liar to say it hadn't trod through her imagination at some point.

Eventually, her fingers grew tired of smacking the desk and she fiddled with a pen instead, clicking it on and off until that became tiresome and she snatched another askance glance at the clock hanging half-heartedly above the door. It hung, half off its nail, ramshackle but she'd grown accustomed to the lopsided angle and read it as late afternoon. Half past five to be precise. The rattling hum of the printer droned on, resembling a dying beast until it pinged. That ping was the most beautiful sound Rhapsody had heard yet that day. The task was done. She rose out of her chair and grabbed the load of papers, turning it over and reading through it, analysing every word, basking in the quality of her writing. It was good, she had to admit. But one more lookover before presenting it to the Senior Overseer was always a wise choice.

Remnants Unleashed!

A Thousand Shadows Fall Over Ireland

By Rhapsody Gossip

The Christmas festivities of 2010, which initially held a distinct promise to be grander and more opulent than ever before in England's history, was tragically dimmed by the disaster that struck our ally, the Irish Sanctuary and the rest of their homeland. Ireland's status as a Cradle of Magic has always resulted in more attention being drawn to its shores, whether that be positive, including the observations of one Professor G. Inkhorn, a renowned explorer of magic worldwide who hopes to soon publish a novel revolving around the three Cradles and their roots of sorcery, or indeed negative, as the last few years have proven to be. If diabolical worshippers of the Faceless Ones and the Dark Gods they deem to be rightful inheritors of this world wasn't enough, various mercenaries, monsters and ne'er-do-wells of all disciplines have proven to be an obstacle to Ireland's path in creating a stable, peaceful society for both mortals and the mages that watch over them.

The latest fiasco, or adventure as some of the more excitable sorcerers labelled it, consisted of a plague of body-snatching entities, known only as Remnants, sweeping through the country and possessing the vast majority of the population there. However, despite the overwhelming surge of hosts that were stolen by these angry wisps of bitter souls, some sorcerers managed to survive and accomplish victory through near impossible odds. Detectives Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain, along with the aid of several allies, were able to trap the swarms of Remnants inside the Receptacle, the giant Soul Catcher within MacGillycuddy's Reeks, Kerry. Despite this victory, the Remnants still need to be housed somewhere secure. Formerly the Midnight Hotel, haven for outlaws and exiles of all nationalities, plans are now being made to contain the Remnants where release is impossible. However, more information has yet to be shared.

Rhapsody skipped the next few segments about Ireland's sorcerer politics and the ascension of its new, admittedly odd Council of Elders. Next up was the obituary, which was a rare section to write, since most sorcerers lived for several centuries, but occasionally, it was an unfortunate requirement to acknowledge those who'd passed away. Again, she skipped it, not because she'd edited to hell to sound as respectfully impartial as possible, but because it quelled any of the old grief returning. The result of hundred's years of living was that in the sorcerer world, nearly everybody knew each other and Rhapsody, although younger than most, still had met and knew and liked many mages and it made her no less miserable to report their demises. She could only imagine what Ireland's mages felt if they had to deal with outbreaks of Remnants and infestations of insane gods on a yearly basis.

The upcoming paragraph was by far the weakest point of her story. For all the ignoramuses out there, who weren't aware of what the hell a Remnant was, Rhapsody had thoughtfully decided to write a passage about them, to inform and hopefully, spark a bit of intrigue and maybe fright, if she was lucky, in her readers. But there was just one gaping dilemma. She knew jack shit about Remnants. Did any sorcerer, for that matter? Research was vital to her job, anyway, and she was rather good at it, but when it came to the body-snatching things, her resources were painstakingly limited. What were Remnants? All anyone told her was that they were snippets of old souls, angry ones at that, separated from their bodies. Well, frankly, Rhapsody wondered how that even happened. God, she wished Quillon was here. Not because he'd answer any of the questions she'd ask, but because he'd allay her worries and direct the conversation elsewhere, to a topic where Rhapsody wouldn't feel so helpless or uncertain.

But Quillon wouldn't arrive outside the building until half six and Rhapsody had a whole half hour to herself until the meeting, when she'd present her story to the Senior Overseer herself, Verity Twain. Classic case of out of the frying pan and into the fire right there. She had until then to read through her story, correct any mistakes, although after the eleventh time she'd had to print it, mistakes should've been few and far between, and accentuate it to the Chief Anchor's rhythm of speaking. That last one was something Rhapsody couldn't give less of a shit about, but Twain was very thorough and honestly, Rhapsody didn't mind her boss being thorough at her job. It was just the woman's insatiable urge to act like a complete bitch that irked her. Nevertheless, Twain held all the cards and Rhapsody was forced to bite back the snide comments that rose up and acknowledge her failings and flaws as a journalist, because inevitably, there was always something wrong with what she wrote about, the way she wrote it or which sorcerers were alluded to. But reading back her work, Rhapsody steeled herself and found nothing noteworthy for Twain to dig into. It all seemed perfectly fine to her trained eye. But she'd see, in twenty or so minutes.

Heaving a sigh, Rhapsody checked the time again and waited, wondering about stuff. Just random stuff, and not very important or relevant to her job. Minutes passed without a care and her own thoughts swam, drifting further and further away. Thoughts of her little brother waiting for her eventual return home tonight emerged and she smiled at the joy she was anticipating. No matter how gruelling a day at the office was, the sight of her brother's smile purged her of any hate or enmity with the idiots at the Global Link and reminded that someone did love her outside of appreciation for her journalistic skill. She thought of Quillon and the two of them meeting up tonight for a night out to fight crime and her smile blossomed. Even if they ended up just patrolling the neighbourhood and stopping off at a fast food place, it'd still be a night well spent. They'd ride around, he'd tell her about the dull day he'd had trying to find any leads and failing hard and he'd make her laugh and break that thick shell of coldness that seemed to coalesce around her with each day working in this place. She thought of the others, and their reactions to her storytelling and hers to theirs and they'd all congratulate her on getting her piece chosen and reported by the network. She knew the next Anodyne meeting wasn't until tomorrow night, as was the weekly custom every Wednesday night, but she didn't care. It was the expectation that buoyed her and that's all she needed to survive twenty minutes with Twain.

She thought of getting a good night's sleep. Tuesdays were shit in general, not just because of the deadline approaching for the next hit storyline to come flowing through during the weekend, so the slumber that awaited Rhapsody tonight was a pleasant thought to dwell on. Branching off of that, images of her lying down, dark hair spread out like a tainted halo across the pillow of her bed, sneaked inside her mind and with that, came memories of the dreams. She rarely remembered her dreams, but when she did, they were bloody awful. It wasn't every night and it didn't follow a pattern, but occasionally, when her mental defences were down, a stray ebbing nightmarish thing seeped inside and when she woke, it was with rivulets of sweat and raspy, hoarse breathing. No. It wasn't wise to think of that. Not now, not ever. It was just sleep that broke the barriers, that ripped through her defences and the dark thoughts invaded her head and clouded in with the familiar pangs of grief, anguish and sorrow. They were blockades. She'd broken through them for over a century. She wouldn't relinquish command of her sanity to them now, for God' sake.

Especially not with the highest priority meeting of the year only- she scanned the clock- shit. Ten minutes away. A bolt of panic pierced through her mind and flowed through her body like scolding water and she sat upright, realising just how low down she'd been perching on her elbows. Any further and her head would've touched the desk. It was strange, how Sensitives possessed greater control over their minds than any other mage without the use of a magical tool, yet still had the capacity to get lost in their thoughts once in a while. Or was it just her? It didn't matter. Irrelevant. Rhapsody was going to be late. She fumbled for her papers, but her eyesight was still blurry from her mulling and her arm knocked the pile off the desk and onto the floor. Cursing, she bent down to swipe them up and re-order them. The panic turned into anger and she glanced at the door, praying no one would walk in and see this. Whoever it was, they wouldn't help, and she didn't even dare to think what Flash and Jagged's reactions to it would be. Not at all enjoyable for her, certainly. As memories of her rivals' taunts resonated in her head, her urgency increased and so did her speed. Eventually, she collected up her work and triple-checked they were in the correct order and as she gathered her wits, she let slip another curse, this one in relief. She strode out of her office, stealing a look at the exterior of the door. She laughed bitterly. Her old partner's name was still engraved onto the grey plaque, she realised. Poor bloke. It wasn't his fault she'd been deemed 'unamenable' by her peers and instead of fighting the label, she'd angrily embraced it. It wasn't often Rhapsody accepted expectations put upon her but bullying the guy into submission seemed the easiest thing at the time to do. It wasn't often she regretted her actions either but spurring that man into quitting the job never failed to cause a spike of lament rise up. Quillon hadn't let her hear the end of that one for a month. After knowing about that latest paper-drop she'd endured, she doubted he wouldn't let her hear the end of this little farce either.

It was quiet today, not a soul in the corridors, although the incessant rhythm of fingers smashing keyboards and mouse-clicking emanated from all the different doors. Not surprising. The general atmosphere of Tuesdays was relentless work in preparation for the Head Overseer's evaluation of the work rate and overall efficiency of the 'force'. Although that arrived only every four months, and this one wasn't until the last day of January, it was the shared belief of the sorcerers here that getting all of the workload out the way and done with, something Rhapsody effortlessly got on board with, since that was her whole philosophy with life in general. Finish the dull shit, then enjoy yourself. One heap of draining labour on a chilly Tuesday evening and you can spend the rest of the week resting on your laurels. No rest for the wicked, Rhapsody smiled as she swiftly turned a corridor and Twain's foreboding office was in sight. She approached, tentatively, as if the door to her boss's domain was a sleeping dragon. Rhapsody had never encountered a dragon, and quite honestly, doubted their very existence but she was certain that the wrath Twain could muster on a bad day was worse than an attacking dragon a hundred-fold.

She willed her body to relax. There was nothing to worry about. Even if her story was utter bollocks, Twain knew Rhapsody was too good a journalist to let go and Rhapsody knew that Twain knew that, so there. Even if the two women had never seen eye to eye inside or outside of their jobs, Twain was the kind of woman who prioritised the job's efficiency over personal matters. Begrudgingly, maybe, but still, it added a level of reassurance to the proceedings and Rhapsody's concerns lessened somewhat. She walked on. She happened to glance to her right and spotted Flash and Jagged's office, her rivals' names etched onto it proudly. Smirking, she raised her middle finger up at it as she passed and heard a door opening up ahead. Shit. Adrenaline clutched Rhapsody's heart as she darted her hand down and out of sight, but to her relief, it wasn't Twain who was emerging out of the office up ahead. It was two people she'd never seen before. Or maybe she had. Just not interacted with or ever made to co-organise something with them.

Did they work here? God, she couldn't remember. Some days, she had trouble finding her pen under her desk, never mind recognise the faces of two mages she'd only had fleeting encounters, if any, with. Still, there was something striking about them. Maybe it was because the woman was smiling at Rhapsody. No one at work smiled at her. Either people knew and didn't like her, or people didn't know her and thus had no reason to like her. It was disarming, the friendly vibes she was getting from these two mages as they approached her down the corridor. She supposed she just wasn't used to such a vibe here of all places. Whereas Rhapsody's eyes were sparkling malachite green and dark hair long, this woman's eyes were a milk chocolate brown and radiated warmth, with tawny hair cut short and neat, a fringe and pretty earrings framing her face. Just at a glance, Rhapsody deduced she was the leader of the pair, as the man struggling to keep in step with her long strides was nowhere near as immediately impressive. He was tall, an inch or so above Rhapsody, but lanky and not very fit. His mousy hair was tousled messily and not in a way that oozed charisma and his teal eyes flitted to the floor and back to his friend, as if begging her not to start a conversation with this random stranger in the corridor. Unfortunately, that just what this woman did.

"Hi," she said and stopped in her tracks. The guy forced himself to stop too to avoid treading on the back of his lady friend's shoes. Rhapsody blinked. Damn. She went on automatic.

"Hey," she returned dumbly. Her mind was squirming to try and escape the exchange, not even because of the meeting with Twain, she just didn't know a thing about social graces anymore, unless she willingly initiated them and she didn't know a thing about these people, so she was pretty much disarmed. On the spot. She hated that, but at least she wasn't under attack or anything. The woman seemed to notice her discomfort though and the smile faltered from one of brightness to assurance.

"Better warn you about the old bag," she joked, "I'd wait a few minutes before going in. She a little, erm…livid right now."

"She's always livid," said Rhapsody and the other woman giggled, earning a sharp disapproving glance from her friend, who seemingly didn't like the noise piercing the thick silence elsewhere in the corridor.

"That she is. We were just in there to give in some reports and she seemed to be in a very bad mood, wasn't she?" the woman nudged the man, who nodded and murmured something Rhapsody didn't hear. Evidently, the woman did, and she huffed although Rhapsody detected the mocking behind it.

"Well, I suppose calling her a bad-tempered mule didn't exactly help matters, but hey…It doesn't do firing two of your employees less than a week away from Evaluation Day, does it? Puts a shit stain on your record, that does," Seeming to notice she was rambling a little, the woman smiled again and held her hand out. "I'm Temerity, by the way. Temerity Candour."

Rhapsody shook the woman called Temerity's hand. "Rhapsody Gossip," she introduced and judging from the way Temerity's eyes neither bulged or narrowed, Rhapsody guessed she really didn't know who she was, which was fortunate.

"Pleased to meet you, Rhapsody," said Temerity, her face splitting into a wide grin again, "This right here is my partner in crime, Diego," she gestured to the man, Diego, who offered his hand too in greeting along with a meek smile. Rhapsody gladly returned the shake, giving him a smile that seemed to ease him a little. "Diego Yellowbelly."

Before Rhapsody's snort even had an opportunity to erupt, Diego's gawping mien cut her off as his eyes flitted to Temerity. "Tem, what-" he said before Temerity interrupted him smoothly and quickly.

"Diego, it's fine, honestly. It's your name. You chose it, remember? Out of all the names in all the world, you made it yours and there's nothing wrong with that."

"But Tem, I-"

"Oh, don't give me that shit, Diego. You, sir, are a brilliant sorcerer and journalist. Really, you're an awesome guy in general."

Diego's face flushed as Temerity hooked her arm through his. "Well, I mean-"

"No, no," Temerity shook her head and tapped Diego on the chest, "Never mind that. Why don't you pop off to our office and get your things ready? We're hitting the town tonight and we're getting pissed with some of that delicious ale down at the Wyrmling's Nest, so best go and prepare, huh?" Temerity waited until Diego nodded and then her eyes threatened to pop out of her sockets as she suddenly remembered Rhapsody was there. "You could come with us!"

"What?" said Rhapsody, caught off guard a little.

"Why not? You seem cool and the more the merrier, right?" Temerity leaned in. "I'll tell you what, though. You've said hello back to us and you're still here, so you're already leaps and bounds above the other idiots that work in this shithole."

She was out of her depth. Rhapsody hadn't the slightest clue what to say. Oh, she knew she had quite a mouth on her, but it wasn't until after she left work that she truly unwound. She felt good that she'd been invited out to a fun night, and then it hit her that she had errands to run with Quillon later and she felt bad. Tentatively, she took in Temerity's beaming smile and returned it with one of reluctance.

"I'm afraid I can't do tonight. Tomorrow night, maybe?"

"That's fine, yeah!" the enthusiasm of her nod was a trifle startling, but Rhapsody's eyes flickered to Diego. "Oh, don't worry about him," chuckled Temerity, "Once he's had a couple of ciders, you can only belt him up with another pint!"

"I'll go and get everything in order for tonight, then," piped up Diego, disentangling himself from Temerity's hook, which prompted a pout from the female sorcerer.

"Oh, I suppose so," sighed Temerity, all too aware of the smirk creeping onto her face, "I did tell you to go and do that, didn't I? That's me, right big scatterbrain. Go on then. Better scamper away now, we've got less and less time everyday to live!" Dutifully, Diego scampered away and shot a farewell nod Rhapsody's way and Rhapsody watched him go, stumbling slightly.

When Diego was gone, Rhapsody looked back and noticed Temerity's smile. She was still watching where Diego had just vanished from and the softness in it, so different to the eccentric, exuberant smiles of before, made something in Rhapsody's heart clench. Eventually, Temerity snapped her attention back to the only other person there.

"Don't mind Diego," she said, "He's a little shy at first but when you get to know him better, or just hand him a bottle of cider, he gets chattier than the world's chattiest person, whoever that is. Probably me. Anyway, so are you heading into the vampire's den?"

"I'm sorry?" Rhapsody said but relaxed when Temerity rolled her eyes and cast a thumb at Twain's office. "Oh, yeah. Yes. Not that I want to, I mean. She can be difficult, sometimes, yeah."

"I mean yeah, I don't know what side of the bed she fell out of this morning. Probably fell off both sides, for completionist's sake. Wouldn't surprise me, meticulous old bat."

They laughed. It was freeing in a way. Rhapsody hadn't mustered the courage or energy to laugh at work for a very long time.

"What did you do that pissed her off so much?" asked Rhapsody, emboldened by her casual swearing. Often, the demeanour here was cold and businesslike in every mage but Temerity's well, temerity, was a blast of fresh air. Hell, even Diego's quiet nature was better than the usual crude jibes and aloofness. Temerity shrugged in response.

"God knows. It might've been when I knocked over her coffee when handing her those papers, accidentally I swear, or it could've been when I tried to steal her pen without her catching me, but guess what happened?"

"She caught you?" Rhapsody guessed.

"Correct!" replied Temerity, rolling her 'r's.

Rhapsody grinned. "Why were trying to steal her pens? Not that I'm discouraging you or anything, but that sounds like an invitation for trouble straight up."

"It makes life interesting," Temerity said, almost shrugging, but decided on a comical grimace instead, "I've been doing it for months and besides, everyone knows the higher-ups and the Overseers and all them lot get much better pens. Diego once told me they even get a fresh pen-set every day. Jammy gits, eh? Oh, and I'll tell you what," At this, Temerity glanced around for any eavesdroppers.

Amused at the turn of attitude and yet a mite cautious of the strange conspiratorial tone with which she hovered, Rhapsody nonetheless acquiesced when Temerity gestured for her to lean in and she spoke quietly, "That spike of adrenaline you get when you're mind's racing back and forth, thinking Oh shit has she seen me, has she not seen me?, is enough to stop you nodding off in there, let me tell you."

Rhapsody frowned. Was that it? Better humour her, though. Just in case. "Oh, I agree. Although when she's speaking, I'd be surprised you could get a wink in. She roars like a bloody dragon."

Temerity laughed again. "Dragon, eh? I'll have to remember that one for the future. Although I heard dragons are pretty much extinct now, I think we've found the next big great fire-breather just twenty metres away." She cackled a little more, then, as if she'd been struck, Temerity froze, and her forehead creased in a frown. It didn't suit her, Rhapsody realised. After all the joyous beams she'd shown beforehand, for the first time it made her look serious. Rhapsody didn't like it.

"Rhapsody? Rhapsody Gossip? That sounds familiar, actually. Wonder why that is. God, I'm useless at names, I am," Temerity scratched her head and Rhapsody seized the chance that opened up, a strange confidence bubbling up from somewhere.

"I'm sure it'll come to you," she said, patting Temerity's shoulder and subtly moving around her as she did do, "But I'll see you tomorrow night, right? The Wyrmling's Nest you said? Yeah, I know where that is. See you then." Suddenly, Rhapsody was strolling to the Senior Overseer's office and Temerity was confusedly looking around.

"Rhapsody, wait!" said Temerity, ignoring the hushes that bombarded her from behind closed office doors. Rhapsody bit her lip and quashed the toiling stew in her belly. She turned and saw Temerity's frown, and quickly realised the mage's intentions weren't aggressive. "I just wanted to ask you which department you were in. Oh, and whereabouts is your office?"

Licking her lips, Rhapsody tilted her head the way she'd came. "Just around that corner and to the left. Not far away, though. You can see the name engraved on it. Oh, and I'm in R&A."

"Reconnaissance and Accounting?" Temerity's smile was returning, "Damn. That's a good one. Me and Diego were kind of aiming for that ourselves, but we're stuck in Retrieval. We're basically whipping boy and girl off fetching bits and pieces for others. But then again, we've only been here, what? Three, four years? No more than five. It'd be stupid to expect a journalistic assignment off the bat. How about you?"

"Thirty-two and counting," Rhapsody answered, injecting a bit of dryness into it, "Trust me, it's not all that."

"Well, I mean at least with R&A, you get to leave the building every now and then on an info hunt, or to have a fag. Not that I smoke, like, but I probably would if it got me five minutes outside in the fresh air. Anyway, reason I asked was because we're only two corridors down on the right. We could come and visit you."

"Visit me?"

Temerity did that almost frighteningly fast nod of hers. "Yep. We can come and hang out. I'll bring Diego with me, if he wants to. And I suppose if you want to, as well."

Rhapsody shrugged, realised it probably came across as half-hearted, and went to nod, although it was nowhere near as vicious as Temerity's. "No, I'd like that. He can come too, it's just well…what would we do? Evaluation Day's in less than a week."

"Oh yeah!" Temerity slapped her head. "Forgot about that. Damn it. Fine then, how about this? We'll meet up only after work for this week and then after The Man does his sweep, we'll meet up when we can in each other's areas and chill out when we have breaks. You can give us pointers on R&A, and we'll do…something that will benefit you in some way. We hope, anyway. I'll think of something."

"Sounds good," said Rhapsody, blinking. Temerity's eyes widened.

"Oh shit! That came out wrong. No! Don't worry, no. We're not after you just to get promoted, nothing like that. Shit, sorry. It's just that well…Diego and I are new like we said. We don't really have many friends and I probably could go out and make some, but Diego's a bit too, well, quiet, to do anything like that. I kind of have to look after him."

"No, no," Rhapsody found herself laughing a little, "It's fine. I wasn't thinking of anything like that. It's just I'm a bit overwhelmed, that's all. I'd like to do all that stuff you said. Really."

"Really?"

"Yup." Rhapsody was gauging Temerity's reaction and didn't expect the brightness of her subsequent smile.

"Oh my God, that's great! Never can have too many friends, that's what I say. Well, I don't, but now that we have a new friend, I'll start! But seriously, that's awesome. I just hope we don't end up ruining your life or something, but hey…Let's focus on the positive."

Chuckling, Rhapsody sneaked a glance at her phone when Temerity's laugh turned into a wild cough, but it was depleted of battery. She was certain she was late by now.

"Sure. Hey listen," Rhapsody started, but Temerity beat her to it.

"Hey, wait! You're meant to be with the dragon now, aren't you?" she said, and beckoned to the door, "Better hurry. I think I've distracted you long enough. You're getting a review of your story?"

"Yeah, I-" Cutting off Rhapsody's reply with a grab to her elbow, Temerity dragged her to Twain's door and marched there like she was off to war.

"Brilliant! Well, hope it goes well. Mind the coffee stain when you go in. If you get a good vibe, well done and if not, then a stay at the Wyrmling's Nest will do you good. Drown your sorrows and all that!" Before she could say anything, Rhapsody was planted in front of the foreboding entrance to the Senior Overseer's office and gazed emptily at it. Temerity slapped her back and flashed her a cheeky grin. "Best of luck! See you tomorrow, Rhapsody."

Her reply lost to the ages, Rhapsody's heart clenched when Temerity knocked on and promptly departed, her footsteps fading behind as new ones came from in front. Damn it. This was probably why Rhapsody had stopped making friends here. She needed isolation, she couldn't afford to be preoccupied with other people when her story, her job and all that jazz were in jeopardy. She'd originally hoped to take her time to approach Twain, practice what she'd say and all the reactions to the criticism she'd receive and then endure the routine as per usual. It was simple. Hell, she'd been doing exactly that for thirty-two years. Now? She'd made two friends and she was a nervous wreck. She honestly didn't know why she was like this. Outside, in the world of crime and beleaguered society, she was a force of good, of righteous destruction. In here, she was a pathetic, quivering toad, just like when she was at home and she'd escaped another nightmare. Once again, she wished to dear God that Quillon was here. But he wasn't. It was just her. Alone. No friends. No. Two friends, Rhapsody reminded herself of that. Sure, they weren't here right now, but most likely they were thinking of her, sincerely hoping she'd pull through and get this whole ordeal over with.

Something warm coiled around her insides, and Rhapsody felt herself straighten, shoulders ever so slightly less hunched. She stopped rubbing her sweaty palms. Refused to be scared. She'd be encountering much scarier things later tonight and in the foreseeable future, so she relaxed and let her body droop a little. Not enough to be off guard, but enough so the tension rushed away from her. Her friend, friend, Temerity's retreating steps gradually vanished, and the approaching ones ceased. Rhapsody banished thoughts of nightmares from her mind as the door opened and Verity Twain beheld her standing there. It was time to tame the dragon.

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading, everything seems to be coming along very smoothly, fingers crossed. Seems a weekly upload is likely for the near future, so expect the third chapter around the same time next Thursday. If there's any changes in the schedule, I'll let you know in one of these little notes so as to avoid confusion. That's all for now, though and I hope you enjoyed. Next time: We will see if our protagonist made the grade...