A/N: Another boring and uneventful chapter. There's no action here folks. But there is some emotional comflict and this basically sets up the setting and mentality of the characters. This chapter took longer because I was working on chapter four. Hopefully from now on, chapters will come faster, and is a lot less boring. For your information, the setting of the story is none other than Rein, home of the fabled Aran class. But there won't be any references to Aran, nor do you need to know about the Aran to understand the story. Anyway, please read and review. =)

Ciel Chapter Three-Lies

I blow into my mitten as we land.

"Achoo." I sneeze.

"Tissue?" Silverbug takes out a bag and I hold up my hand to decline. Spice climbs under my coat upon noticing the vast difference in weather. "Go on, keep it. You might need it, right." Deciding its best to take it, I stuff it in my pocket. Cathy brushes between us rudely, giving us a glare on the way. I continue after her as Silverbug leaves with my luggage.

"So where are we headed?" I ask wondering if she knows if she actually is going the right way. The last thing I'll need is getting lost in a snowy forest.

"Don't ask anything and follow me." She replies, rather coldly. If Lanny really have known her for a long time, how does he live with her?

A long trek later (which I swear would have been much shorter if I led the way) we arrive at the top of a cliff. I faintly remembered some time ago that going up to higher ground might be a bad direction. "Are we lost?" I ask. When she didn't answer I know I regretted asking. After what seemed like years, she finally finds courage to turn and face me. The mad look on her face tells me I said something wrong. As she walks closer, I imagine her choking me, even though that might be a little extreme. "Teleport."

Unknowingly, I find myself in unfamiliar places. The whole stranded in a forest scene, became stranded in the middle of a snowy canyon scene. "Took you long enough." A smart voice says. "And you brought along a little sidekick too."

"She is not my sidekick." Cathy scowls. For a second I jump back at her hostile attitude. "And I bet she wouldn't survive for three hours." I look at her and wonder if there was anything in this world she actually cared about. I didn't think so.

"It's been three hours, you lost."

"Starting now." She corrects herself. "I take it that you scouted around." A noise startles me and I notice a large crate in between Cathy and her friend. Ok maybe friend isn't the best word here.

"I did but didn't make it very far. The whole place is abandoned. Everything's been sealed off, and I don't think it's possible to get in without some explosives, backup, or some access card."

"So you basically did nothing." Looking at her back and I can already tell she's thinking: if you want something done the right way, do it yourself.

"Actually, I got the electricity back up. It melted most of the ice in the place."

"You waste my time. There's nothing else for you here, leave and file a report for me." Grumbling, he takes off as Cathy smirks victoriously, like she actually enjoys having people work for her. She takes a Maple Lama Staff from inside the crate and hand it to me, along with a large satchel. "You know what to do?" From her outstretched hand, I take the rubber band and tied her hair in a neat ponytail. Memories flash in my brain and the next thing I expect is a 'thank you'. Never happened. And it probably never will.

"Achoo!" I sneeze again, a little softer this time.

"If you're not accompanied with the cold, you shouldn't have come here." She comments dryly. Without telling me, she walks deeper into the canyon. I follow close behind with my Teleport because I rather use Mana then walk in the heavy snow boots. Without conversing, the journey becomes boring and tiring. And the unexciting scenery doesn't help the situation one bit.

One good thing is that I get to think back to those times a year ago. I've always thought of Lanny as a simple person, with simple goals. I spent time with him together. It was brief, but he showed me the fun part to life, away from fashion, boys, and popularity. He's a fun person, who does fun and often cute things. But ever since I read that letter and learned the truth about him, it felt like I was living a lie. Is the teddy-loving, cross-dressing, Picasso reincarnate I known up to then is actually a mask? All this time he was telling lies?

"Shh." Cathy hushes. We halt in our steps. Her fingers twitch every now and then. Not knowing what to expect, I cling close to her, while Spice clings close to me. A noise. No there is no noise. It's a feeling. Yes, the feeling that someone or something is behind me. And I turn. And freeze. A pack of Lycanthrope, werebeasts three times the size of man, surrounds us, trapping us between rocky walls. My Teleport can't reach far enough to escape the encircling. One of it bears it fangs at me. Then it goes on all fours. I want to shriek. I want to cry. And when it raises its arms at me, I trip.

My mind went blank.

"Congratulations Ms. Levite. You survived for three hours." I try to find the source of the voice and find a blurry figure behind the campfire. "And in turn you wasted three hours of my time." She continues. I squint but still find it hard to get a good picture of the speaker. Something cold drifts onto my nose and I finally know why. It's snowing, distorting my vision. It must have started recently since there's barely a layer on the blanket I've been sleeping under.

"Why didn't you set up a tent?" I ask lazily, even though I intend to yell.

"Because I can kill and bury you without having to do it personally. Come on. Let's get going." She stands and walks, not taking a second glance at me. And without a word of complaint I follow behind, shoving the scattered items into my satchel while walking.

"Cathy. Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why are you so mean?" I blurt out. When I realize I might be mean myself I add, "I'm not saying you're not nice, but sometime you're too cold to others. Even if you acted nice before, I don't really believe—"

"Are you done with your talking?" She talks over me. "I am who I am because that's the way I'm born. To be a GM, you need qualities, talent basically. Unlike Silverbug, I don't reveal myself to the public, and even if I did I cannot show weakness to others. To be strong means not being influenced by outside forces. Back then I acted, like you said. Because that too is another quality. My real self is who you see before you. If you don't like it, you can always leave. I am on a mission, and you're not a spoiled brat anymore. I don't have time baby-sitting you."

"Then why didn't you leave me when the Lycanthrope attacked?"

"I did, but they surrounded me."

"Then how about after?"

"Think back a little." And I did. Flashes of earlier today come into mind. Everything is still fresh and vivid. First they appeared, hungry and desperate. The intimidating glares knocked me down into the floor, pinning me there. One moved closer and….

"I see…." And she jumped in front of it right before I blanked out. "Your leg—"

"Get one thing straight. It was carelessness."

"I'm sorry."

"Apology unaccepted. If you are really sorry, then move faster."

"There's still one thing I need to know."

"Need? Or want?" I think about the importance of it. Then I realize which one is the safer answer.

"Need."

"Alright, tell me."

"All this time. Is Lanny lying to me? As in, is he really who he appear to be, or is he really coldhearted too?" She laughs. But even when laughing, it sounds more like a funeral march. "What's so funny?"

"It's nothing. Now Lanny. He was a disgrace. No matter what I do to him, there was no possible way for me to train him into a proper GM. A failure at best. I would have given up on him except…. He wrote one essay that impressed even me. I've read it so many times, I can probably tell it to you in reverse." She takes a small pouch and throws it randomly behind her. "Don't slow down while reading it." I unfold the worn paper and notice two things. First, it's in French. Second, the date is marked a month after his 'death'.

"Why is it in French? I thought you can't read French?"

"That's precisely it. He didn't want me to read it. It forced me to learn the language. Sometime after he wrote that, he was dismissed into the field to track leads on…." I wait for her to continue, but she keeps quiet.

"On?"

"Chaud." That word sounds like a chant. For the last few years, I've learnt to hate that word and its owner. I hated that word, not by disgust. It was fear. That one person changed my life. After a year, I still get that haunting feeling that he's somehow still out there, searching for me. A week before, my fears were confirmed. In that day, my days of hope fallen. I know I am still not strong enough to face him, so that is why I search for Lanny. Because without him, I can never escape…hell.

"Chaud." I repeat. "So, he's here?" My voice shakes.

"Do you really want me to answer? Quite frankly, I don't want Lanny to blame me for something you asked for."

"Please answer." I say, controlling the quivering in my lips.

"No, I don't think so. Because for one thing, it's abandoned, or did you forget that."

"No, I didn't. But, I'm scared that he's following me, or is waiting for me there."

"Scared? Lime, here's one thing about GMs. You never get on Cathy's bad side. In the unfortunate event that you did, she'll hunt you down to the center of the world and make you pay."

"Is that your way of saying: there's no need to worry?"

"No. That is my way of saying: stop asking these dumb questions and start walking. Seesh, I've been repeating that all day." I speed up my pace a little, catching up to her, until she starts to speed walk. Her long legs easily catches up to my Teleport (but I have to admit, my Teleport isn't really that awesome).

My Dream

An essay by Lanny

My dream. I've been asking myself that many times. A dream, to me, can be very situational. It changes as time goes on. At first, I had a dream that all orphans have. To have a family. To this day, my childhood dream could be called complete. Ever since Cathleen took me away from the orphanage and gave me a home, I never thought I would dream again. Because my life was content. So many people would come visit me and give me candy. Yes, I really was a kid back then. There couldn't be anything more I would want.

On my first Christmas with Cathleen, she got me my first claw. And I was admitted into school to learn writing and reading. I tried hard in school everyday. And pretty soon, I outmatched everyone else. That was the first time I felt truly proud of myself. Then the first year was over. I expected Cathleen to be happy and content with my grades. And then take me to vacation. Because all the other kids are practically going to some foreign place. When I got back, she scanned over it, and made a phone call.

On that summer, I spent my vacation training to be an unofficial GM Core member. My second, third, forth, fifth, and sixth year passed, and I still don't have a dream yet. On the sixth summer, I got a file. I thought it was one of those files I had to remember for no reason other than it being part of the training. I read it. It was my first and only mission. Then I realize why I was the lucky child to be chosen by Cathleen. It's not because I'm capable to be a strong GM one day, but because of my family ties. I reunited with my big brother and spied on him. Every move he makes, every food he purchased from the market, every gallon of water he uses per day was documented in a notebook. My brother was nice, a true family.

Through him, I met Lime. She was a rich girl, from a rich family. And I was spying on her boyfriend. So I never really did approach her. I really regretted that. Because, I know that I'm working for the GMs and Chaud is an enemy. I would turn him in, and someone along those lines would get hurt. After a few months, I noticed changes in his behavior. I knew he hid Lime in the basement. And I didn't have the courage to expose him. I waited for days and it pained the three of us. I nearly cried when I finally opened the basement door. My loving brother, a criminal.

My dream is to end this. It started with me. It might as well end with me.

P.S. I don't need your permission. Writing this was a waste of my time.

He knew about Chaud. He knew I would get hurt. He knew I did get hurt.

My vision blurs. I stop. Cathy moves on. This is not the time or the place to sit down and cry. I need it though. There are reasons to cry. It might be the memories coming back into my head. It might be Cathy not caring about my emotions. It might be Lanny not choosing to save me the first second he knew. Or it might be me. Me who have thought this world was a beautiful rainbow.

The snow crunches beside me. A mittened hand reaches out. "I would like the essay back, please." This time, I couldn't bear her any longer. I never feel so enrage in my entire life. Looking at her snobbish scowl, I push her. I shove her with all my build up rage. I want her to fall. I want her to say sorry. I want her to at least show a side of her that isn't arrogant, if it existed. But it was no use. No matter how hard I try, I can never overcome her. And so I lean on her. Cry and punch her. And nearly ask her 'Why?'

"Are you still going to search for Lanny?" Her voice is still cold steel.

"Why should I search for someone who wouldn't search for me?"

"Let go of my coat."… "I said let go."… "Now!" She pushes me down into the snow. And left me there. To die. And I watch her leave with the letter. Leaving and walking until the color of her coat disappears in the concealing web of snow.

The snow piles around me, until it is up to my waist. I had time to calm down. And now that I'm not full of anger (but still holds a grudge), I glance around. I can barely see three inches in front of me. My legs are trapped in the layer of ice. And Spice clings onto me. Soon, the raging storm will bury us alive. And it doesn't help that I can't find my staff, anywhere. Digging myself out is ideal, but as I continue to shovel that snow, it piles backup again.

"Hey, need a little help?" Cathy asks. The storm blocks her face, but from her speech, it's easy to tell she's in a sarcastic slash embarrassed mood. Why?

"What did you come back for?" I ask. She sighs.

"I'll admit it. I need your help. If you help me, then I'll rescue you. If you decline, I'll call for back-up." Something tells me she wouldn't call for back-up. She'd find eating dirt better than asking for help. To go along with it, I keep quiet, even when the snow starts to touch my stomach. "Come on, answer me. Don't you want to see Lanny?"

"Don't you get it? I don't want anything to do with him anymore!" I pretend to yell. I try to hold in the laugh, but knowing how futile it is; I hope the snow would cover the smile across my lips.

"Look. Lanny…." She pauses. I really don't know why. The snow reaches over my stomach, and I begin to panic.

"Well?" I say, trying hard to cover up the panic in my voice. Which I did a really bad job at. Hopefully she didn't notice.

"Lanny thought of you everyday. When he sent letters back there were always paintings of you. I have a whole gallery of it in my room. And well…." Another pause. It's like there's something in there she didn't want to discuss at all. "If you tell a word of it to anyone, I'll kill you. And I can make it look like a Lycanthrope did it." Hmm, diverting the topic.

"So, what if he thought of me? Should I forgive him because he constantly regrets not saving me back then?" I ask, not keeping with the charade, but really meaning what I ask.

"No you shouldn't." Another sigh. "The last letter he wrote. He wrote it to you. Not me or the GMs. But to you. Because, he's a stupid kid. He's entrusting our secrets and his life to you. I don't know why, I don't know how. But maybe he wanted you to know that, he's sorry. And he'll use his life to prove it."

"That doesn't make any sense at all."

"And so is being buried up to the neck without trying to break free." She stretches her hand out again. Hesitating, I take it.

"Ok fine. I'll help you. And keep your secret. Under one condition." I can hear her cuss under her breath. Very amusing to watch. Wonder how she'll react to my condition. "You have to answer any questions I have. Starting with this. Why are you embarrassed to talk about Lanny's pictures?" She cusses some more.