Vanille sat down with her paints in the light of early morning that poured in from east-facing windows. Against one of which rested a blank pane that refracted the light against the wall like a lamp.

The sunlight coalesced within the pane, half of it darkening into a black, and the other half lightening into a pure white. The two colors flitted around each other and slowly fitted together to form a checkerboard-like pattern. Nothing else seemed to come out of it – no calm and comfortable feeling, and no sense of entering the presence of another being.

She dipped her brush in black, lips pursed in thought, and got to recording the image. It was hard to place where the sensation came from, but it was a little like that dark green and metal interior she had seen once or twice. Walls felt closer when she looked at it, the world narrower. A cage, she thought.

She finished the black squares and moved to the white. This wouldn't be one of her favorites, but she still had to finish it. If not, the hallucinations might act up and distract her outside.

She finished the painting and set it down on the ground for it to dry. The squares she'd seen became something closer to circles, but the image remained faithful enough from a distance to instill that same sense of being trapped.

With a shudder, Vanille stood and stretched out the kinks in her legs before leaving again to check in with Kupo.

In the few days that she'd spent, she came to find that Alexandria never felt quite as… alive as Lindblum, even before the sun set. The crowds, though constant, never seemed to pick up beyond a mild clamor in the streets.

The tower was as quiet as always, with no one inside save for the moogle happily reading letters in the corner.

"Good morning!" Vanille's short heels clicked against the stone. "Any news?"

"No, kupo!" The moogle bobbed its head. "The channels are quiet, kupo."

Her heart dropped. "Oh."

"It takes a while, sometimes, kupo. Why don't you go sightseeing, kupo?"

Vanille bit her lip. "I've done a little." She saw Ruby yesterday and checked out more of the city, but her hallucinations… made things difficult.

"Better that than cooped up in your room all day, kupo!" Zhe bounced in the air.

Vanille nodded. "Of course, I should do that."

She made her way back across town. She really didn't want to wander about the city any more. She was tired and already the edges of her vision blurred to something white and bluish. She could swear she walked along crystal, even though brick laid the path just that morning.

She entered the inn with heart heavy in her chest. Why would Blank take more than a few days to respond?

"Vanille." She stopped short when Freya stepped into view – she hadn't seen the Burmecian standing by the tables. "No response from Tantalus?"

Vanille opened her mouth to respond but closed it again and shook her head.

"Might I suggest a walk around the city, then? Just the two of us?"

"Um…" No good excuse came to mind. "Yes, of course." She forced a smile.

"Then we'll go." Freya walked past her, opened the door, and stepped out before holding it open for Vanille.

She followed and kept up the smile.

Outside, the rising summer sun heated the cobblestones and warmed her feet through the soles of her boots. Freshly laundered clothes hung on lines above them and Vanille smelled powdered fruit on them – a popular scent here, she'd found.

"What is it you enjoy doing?" Freya asked as they walked out into the square. "There are shows in theaters throughout the city, if you'd like. Or new malls cropping up on the edge of town."

Vanille really wasn't in the mood for such a thing now, and even Ruby's impressive number yesterday did little to cheer her up. Even then, she hadn't been sure what was part of the show and what wasn't. She found herself certain that the fire that engulfed the stage during the romantic falling-in-love segment wasn't real, but who was to say for the rest of it?

"I'd love to window shop at the malls." Maybe she could pick up a few more glass panes while she was there. She didn't expect to stay so long and already her stash was running out.

"In that case, we'll head out this way." Freya led her down a side street, towards the front of the town. Vanille followed and tried not to show visible surprise when vines started snaking out across the path.

Vanille focused on Freya. The other woman seemed tense, herself, but Vanille found that to be par for the course. Freya wasn't one to relax, it seemed.

They left the street and turned onto another that was lined on either side with shops that stretched out into the distance, many under construction.

"Wow." Vanille stopped to stare at the sight. She could see food shops, clothing shops, toy shops, mechanic shops, crafty shops, and so many more. "Wow!"

Freya cast her a glance. "Where would you like to go first?"

"That store, right there!" She pointed to one that looked crafty. Hopefully it would carry glass panes.

"Sure." Freya walked stiffly forward, and Vanille followed, smile no longer forced.

"Excuse me," said a child that looked to be in his early teens. He stopped her with a grip on her sleeve and Vanille drew up short at the strange and tattered clothing he wore, accompanied by a dirtied and frantic face. "You… you seem like you know other worlds."

"Beg your pardon?" said Freya. She gave Vanille a warning look. "What is this of which you speak?"

The kid swallowed hard and his limbs shook. He spoke with a strange, almost guttural accent. "Omega. Mwynn. Bhunivelze. I don't know which one it is anymore. But I have to find them. I have to. Please, will you help me?"

"I don't understand." Vanille dropped to her knees before him despite him coming up all the way to her chest. "You're lost?"

"Lost." He didn't seem to understand the word at first. "I guess. The lights and stars, they're so confusing, I-"

"We cannot handle this one." Freya offered her hand. "Come with me, child. I'll take you where you need to go."

The boy looked at the proffered hand and quivered. "You look like guado."

"Guado?" Freya blinked. "I don't know that word."

"I can't be sure, King, I don't see any-" A passing pedestrian stopped in his tracks at the sight of them – a tall, blond man in a black uniform. "Never mind. I'll update you later."

The boy stumbled back at the man's approach. "You-! No! Hu! Kad pylg!"

"Oerba Dia Vanille?" asked the man with only a sideways glance at the kid.

Freya snatched her lance free from her back and not a little confusion betrayed her features. "Who asks?"

"It's… just Vanille, actually." Vanille stepped between the man and the boy. "Do you know each other?"

The boy ranted in another language and Freya cut him off. "Rather an awkward meeting, this. Perhaps one will explain the other."

"I'm…" The man hesitated. "… His… brother."

The boy took another step back. "Dryd'c y muyt uv cred!"

"There's a certain resemblance," said Freya, still tensed, "but his strange eyes, they do not match yours. Why is that?"

"Apologies, I'm not much of a liar." The man sighed and placed a hand on his hip. "My loquaciousness does not cover falsehoods, frustrating as it may be. I'll be honest then – I'm here to take Vanille off this world."

Freya leaped in front of Vanille. "In what manner dare you speak! I will not allow you to kill anyone here!"

Vanille startled. "Freya, I don't think-"

"I don't mean to kill!" The man put his hands up. "I apologize if my words are so easy to misinterpret, but I've come to this place with a purpose, and that is to bring all the servants of Mwynn together!"

"Mwynn?" repeated the boy. "You know the Order of Light?"

The man shook his head. "Only Bhunivelze preaches light for His domain. Mwynn is a more far-reaching entity that holds transcendence above all. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself-" he flicked a wrist and bowed to Freya- "I'm Trey, steward over the realm of knowledge."

"Realm," repeated Freya. "You speak of the Currant Assemblage?"

"An Assemblage, I know not." Trey looked about them. "But perhaps I could take you to Valhalla and prove myself?"

"That's okay," Vanille said with a tilt of her head. "I know not to go strange places with strange men."

"I'm not-…" Trey sighed. "Okay. I understand."

The kid shoved past them. And threw himself at Trey.

Vanille barely registered what was happening before the kid was clawing and biting at Trey, who fought him off with apparent ease.

"Give her back!" screamed the kid before latching onto Trey's leg.

"I apologize again," said Trey before prying the child off him. Light emitted from the man's hand and the child collapsed to the ground in a heap. "I didn't travel through the inordinate cosmos to cause a ruckus. If you'll excuse me, I'll find the authorities and have them deal with this one."

"You do know each other?" asked Freya before replacing her spear at her back. "Seems an odd relationship."

Trey lifted the child into his arms despite the size of the kid. "It isn't myself that knows him. I only know of him – but I'm aware enough that his home is elsewhere."

"Even though he doesn't belong on this world?"

Vanille cast Freya a surprised look. Vanille suspected, but it didn't seem in Freya's character to be so forward.

Trey paused. "You know of the other worlds?"

"Not quite." Freya took a breath. "But spoke he of such, and his eyes are not like anything I've seen in all my travels."

Trey tightened his mouth into a fine line. "I plan to take him back where he belongs."

"Against his will, though?" asked Vanille. "Why's he here in the first place?"

"He shouldn't be traveling the cosmos, not yet." Trey looked around them. Despite the commotion, no one seemed to pay them any heed. "It isn't safe for him to be exposed to such changes."

"A truth, that." Freya cast Vanille a narrow look. "But who are we to trust a stranger with unexplained powers?"

Vanille looked between them. "What would we do with him instead?"

"I couldn't say." Freya focused on Trey again. "But we know not this man, and the child appears to be in pain."

Trey deflated. "Please, don't make my work any harder than it is."

"Perhaps," Vanille said slowly, "we could watch him for now? Until we get more information?"

"A recipe for disaster." Trey lifted the child to emphasize. "This one has been infected by divine power not suited to him – he's a wild shell of what he once was and I should expect much tribulation until he is returned to his proper state. It is not meant for one such as-"

"I need something to keep me busy anyway." Vanille popped another smile and clasped her hands behind her back. "Some babysitting should be just what I need."

Freya paused. "I understand not your motivations. But I offer my help."

"So be it." Trey stepped closer and offered the kid out. "But I'll have you know this is an ill-advised course of action."

Vanille accepted. And promptly collapsed when the weight of him forced her to the ground.

"I'll come back eventually." Trey turned. "Beware coalescing forces until then – they gather to overcome the inevitable denouement of their fall."

"Roger that." Vanille struggled to get back to her feet. Freya cast her a concerned look, but Vanille was determined to do this by herself.

Freya glanced back the way they came. "We should get him a bed to rest in. I can offer my room-"

"Wait." Vanille strained under the weight. "I still need my blanks!"

Freya shook her head. "I would not advise-"

"No!" Vanille angled herself toward the craft shop. "I need my blanks!"

"Then allow me to retrieve them for you or have me take the human." Freya stopped Vanille. "You cannot do both."

Vanille relented and offered the guy to Freya, who took him with ease. Vanille then rushed into the shop – best to get it done quickly.

Freya hauled the strange not-quite-adult in her arms while Vanille followed along with heavy, shaking breaths. Outside, the girl acted like the sun itself would suffocate her – a sensation not unfamiliar to Freya, but she found it odd that one used to these conditions would appear so uncomfortable in them.

The boy, though large, was light for his size. Freya couldn't see anything past the robe he wore save for the frayed edges near the ankles and neck, but his closed eyes were shadowed and the dirtied, sunken cheeks hinted at a worrisome lack of sustenance.

"We'll take him to your room," Freya said as they passed by the same construction sites that led to the mall, "and we'll take time to rest and decide what to do with… this."

Vanille snapped to attention. "That sounds like a good idea."

"And what has you distracted?"

"Oh… nothing, I just…." Vanille shook her head. "I'm not sure what to say to Blank if he won't respond."

"Respond to what?"

As she said it, a moogle rushed up in front of them and forced them to halt. "Kupo! Your message, kupo!"

"Oh…" Vanille took a deep breath and moved the bag of glass from one hand to the other as the moogle handed a folded letter to her. "Thanks."

"No problem, kupo!" The moogle hurried off back the way it had come.

She opened it with shaking fingers and her eyes darted from one end of the page to the other. Then skipped to the top and skimmed down again. Then closed her eyes and folded it back up.

"What is that?" Freya asked.

Vanille looked up at her with worried eyes. "I was supposed to get Garnet and Zidane to agree to send Lindblum back the mythril they stole. Zidane said no, and… and Blank's not happy with that. He's kind of upset." She clenched the paper in one hand, crumpling it. "I have to go talk to them again. Try to convince them. But Zidane says the mythril is gone – there's nothing I can do."

The story sounded familiar. "The same mythril they took during their invasion?"

Vanille nodded and cast her eyes down. "I can see where they doubt the queen, but Zidane isn't the kind to lie like that – not to us, at least. And Blank should know that."

"Now isn't the time to address it." Freya resumed her pace along the road and Vanille followed reluctantly behind. "We've had ourselves rather an odd day and it would be better for all of us to take a moment to rest first."

"But I shouldn't put it off. I'll drop this off in my room…" She briefly lifted the bag of glass into the air, before settling her arm back down. "Then I'll go."

"And leave me alone with the child?" Freya cast her a furrowed glance.

Vanille opened her mouth to protest and shut it again. "Right. I suppose that would be rather rude of me?"

Best not to leave her alone.

Freya grit her teeth against the voice's urge. "I'll go with you. I've been wondering where Zidane is." He hadn't made it back to visit them since that first night. She didn't particularly mind, but she was a little worried – if Zidane hadn't found an excuse to shirk his duties, odds weren't kind that he'd gotten himself into something serious.

Vanille nodded, and they continued on their way back to the inn.

The innkeeper didn't give them so much as a second glance when they arrived with an unconscious body in hand – Freya would have expected more questions. But they made their way up to Vanille's room with no interruptions and Freya set down the boy on the one bed in the room.

Vanille got to picking up all her painted slabs and setting them aside before taking a seat on the bed. Freya stood near the window.

"So," Vanille said with a glance at the sleeping child. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

"A piercing question, that." Freya shook her head. "I suspect we can only wait and see at this point."

The boy sucked in a breath and Vanille jumped to her feet. He didn't wake, but instead shifted in what became a fitful sleep.

"I doubt we can present this one to the court," Freya said, "but I would prefer not to send you alone to the castle."

"I can handle myself." Vanille stroked the boy's forehead and smoothed his hair out of the way. "Oh, dear, he's burning up."

Freya took the cue to grab a cloth and dab it in the wash basin. "Allow me." Vanille took leave of the bed and Freya knelt by the child. "We'll need more than one of these cloths, I think."

Freya cleaned off the dirt and grime that coated the boy's face and revealed tiny, branching scars across his skin akin to veins. Vanille offered another and Freya rested that one against his forehead. Her toes scratched against the wooden ground, but she tried to ignore that.

He's been twisted by the paths he's taken through creation. Shadow sent a pang of sorrow through her and Freya bit back a shudder at the images he brought to mind. A child should not be so exposed to the darkness.

They shouldn't. But that didn't mean it didn't recur on a discouraging basis.

"He needs new clothes," said Vanille with a huff. "No wonder he got sick, if that's all he's had."

Freya finished cleaning his face, hands, and feet, and sat up straight. Brushed hair out of her eyes. "'Tis an odd fabric he wears – I've never seen its like. Perhaps an alien cloth from another world?"

"It's weird, all right." Vanille shook her head. "But no matter how unnaturally tough it is, it's not sufficient to keep him covered."

"Clothing isn't cheap in this city." Freya stood, legs aching from the time spent kneeling. "I don't know what we'll find."

"Leave it to me." Vanille made for the door. "I could use some air, anyway."

"You wouldn't return to the castle alone, would you?"

"What?" Vanille snorted. "No, of course, I wouldn't! We said we'd go together, right?"

"We did."

"Nope. Just clothes today." Vanille left and all but slammed the door behind her.

Freya shook her head and turned back to the boy. And wondered at the hint of a glimmer behind his eyelids.