She was lucky enough to catch him alone. She said, "Hi, Soren, we're having an exclusive mage meeting over by the hollow trees, and you're going to be late."
"Hold on," Soren replied, "I need to get permission from Ike."
"Oh, no, it's a secret. You see, we were planning a surprise birthday party for Ike and…" she said.
"Ike's birthday was last month," Soren said. "I made him beef chili. He breathed fire for the entire rest of the day."
"Okay, Soren," she responded, "You saw right through me. I do have ulterior motives." She grasped his thin wrist tightly. Her hand could fit all the way around it and then some.
"Let me go!" he said, struggling, "You narcissistic witch! IIIIIIIIIIKE! IIIIIIIIIIKE!"
She waved a staff in front of his face and he could no longer scream for help. He mouthed the words, "What was that for?" But Calill didn't answer. She just ran, trying to run from her conscience.
"Soren, are you okay?" asked Ike, when he came running, "I heard you screaming…" Soren didn't respond. He just looked into his worried eyes and then away. "Soren, were you Silenced?" Ike asked. Soren simply nodded in reply, a tear rolling down his cheek.
Ike put Soren in bed and commanded, "You're staying here today. I don't want you going into any battles in this condition."
Rhys rushed into the room and said, "Bad news. Muston said Aimee burned all the Restore staves in reserve, and when he asked why, she responded 'I always get what I want.'"
"Aimee did this to my sweetheart? She'll pay. Oh, she will pay," Ike said, holding his sword menacingly. Soren imagined Ike in shining silver armor aboard a white stallion, then with beautiful wings and a golden halo. He couldn't comment, but he smiled.
------
Five hours after dinner, Ike was in bed, holding Soren protectively. But Soren was knocked to the ground with a thud. Aimee removed her clothes along with Ike's. Ike woke up to realize he was under Aimee. "AUGH!" he screamed in protest, knocking her to the floor. Soren woke up under the pressure of her body, and saw that she and Ike were both naked. Soren tried to cast a spell of wind on Aimee that would knock her clear across Hatari, but he was unfortunately still Silenced.
"That's right, Soren," Aimee gloated, "I knew Ike. And you can't do anything about it because you can't talk." Memories flooded Soren's head of being helpless to cope against attacks before he could speak. Hot tears ran down his face. He looked just about ready to give up, when suddenly he pulled up his left hand to Aimee's face, and quickly ran his nails across it. She responded with a similar gesture from her right. Aimee's strike drew blood. This was war. But Aimee knew she had the upper hand in this fight. Right between Soren's legs, Aimee struck. Soren let out a mad yelp.
"I bet you didn't know," Soren said, "Weakness strikes nullify Silence." He collapsed onto the ground in uncontrollable pain. Ike rushed over to him.
"Soren, did she hurt you?" he asked.
"No," Soren replied, "I'm fine. Don't worry about it." But Ike saw blood gushing down Soren's legs. He immediately stripped Soren of his clothes and examined the injury. It was pretty bad, all right.
"You die… now…" Ike said, as he pressed his sword under Aimee's chin.
"No, please…" she said, trying to wriggle free of this trap.
He thrust his sword into her chest and she fell to the ground. "Please, Ike, have mercy," she shrieked, trying her hardest to live. Seeing the pain in Aimee's eyes reminded Soren of how he felt when the townspeople would throw stones at him. He reluctantly held up a heal staff and waved it over her.
"Why did you save me?" she asked, "I practically castrated you!"
"Yes," Soren said, "And you tried to steal my boyfriend, raped him, let Calill out of jail, made her Silence me, made it impossible for Rhys to buy a Restore staff, and left scars on my face from your sharp fingernails…" He turned to her and said, "All emotion dictates that I should just let Ike kill you and watch as you fall dead before my eyes. But you are useful. You're annoying—to an extreme—but you're useful. And that's why I chose to spare you."
Ike looked at the blood on his sword. How ironic that Soren chose to spare someone Ike had no problem offing. Usually, it was the other way around.
-----------
The next evening, Largo made his way into Ike and Soren's bedroom, and Soren wasn't afraid to scream. "AAAAAAAAH!" he yelled, "IIIIIIIIIIKE!"
"Shut up," Largo whispered, putting his hand over Soren's mouth, "I don't want Ike to wake up."
Soren for the second time today cursed his physical frailty. "I need your help with something," Largo said. Soren squirmed around in his grasp, trying to shriek through Largo's hand.
Largo picked up Soren and carried him out the door. Soren was terribly frightened by this gesture. Soren was dropped in a clearing in a forest, where he saw Ilyana all dirty, with a string tied to a bone in front of her and chicken grease all over her lips, Tormod holding a ransom note saying "WE HAVE MUARIM", and Bastian who smelled of alcohol and was still carrying a random mandolin.
"For the love of Altina, Largo!" Soren yelled, "What do you want with us?"
Ilyana asked woozily, "Is there more chicken?"
Tormod said observing his surroundings, "Somehow I think I've been tricked."
Bastian said, "Tricked not by the cunning beauty of Lucia… Cia… Cia… Hey, Soren, want some wine?"
Soren shied away instinctively. "If there's some bread with that wine, I'll take it!" Ilyana offered.
Largo stood at the center of the four, "Ahem… the reason I had called you here is because I need to know what mages like."
"What… mages like," Soren said, "And you expect observing an obsessed person, a compulsive eater, a delusional bard, and an abolitionist is going to help you find out what Calill likes."
"Diamonds are a girl's best friend, Calill told me," Ilyana explained, "But I think it's manicotti with garlic bread."
"Diamonds!" Largo said, "But where can I find diamonds?"
"There's a diamond mine up by Ohma," Soren responded, "You'd best check there, but you should watch out because I heard there is a frightening thief there."
"Yeah," Tormod responded, "So you might want to take a laguz along just in case… I'm sure Vika would be happy to go. She likes diamonds."
"One flaw in your theory though," Soren said, "What if the frightening thief is or has an archer? Or a wind mage?"
"Sounds like a good time for you and me to hustle," Ilyana said, "You and I are both so pale and thin they'd never expect we were threats."
"And me too," Tormod said, "Since I'm so short."
"Okay, problem solved," Soren said, "But how am I going to explain to Ike without him tagging along and risking his life to protect me?"
"You could always—hiccup—say that it was just a research trip, and that the tomes were just for in case of emergency," Bastian responded, "As always, I will lead."
"No, this is a mission for Largo," Tormod responded.
-------
Geoffrey awoke in the castle, in Elincia's bed. She walked over to him and said, "Oh, I'm so glad you're alright. What happened to you? I found you unconscious in the square."
"Where's Bastian?" he asked worriedly, "The last thing I remember is kicking him in the balls!"
Elincia looked shocked. "Man, what did he do?"
"He was making light of my ruin," Geoffrey answered. "I realize that's no excuse but… oh my gosh! What happened to him? Did Calill get HIM too?"
"Nonsense, Geoffrey, Calill is locked up in jail…" Elincia said.
"No, she's not," a familiar voice cried out, "She escaped."
"Lucia, are you sure?"
"Yes," Lucia said, "I found out that the stupid guard was too busy sleeping to keep watch, and SOMEONE let her out."
Geoffrey said, "Now we have two criminals to track down, and I don't know where either of them are. Or Bastian!"
----------
Amy walked into Ike's bedroom at near sunrise and was surprised to see Soren was missing from Ike's arms. "Mister Ike, wake up," she said, shaking him.
Ike didn't budge. Amy screamed, "Mister Ike, wake up," but he didn't move.
Amy whispered something to Boyd who was standing on the other side of the hallway. Boyd nodded and walked in. He pounced on Ike and shouted "WAKE UP CALL!" That woke him up.
Boyd covered most of Ike's body. Ike blushed hotly. "Boyd, get off," Ike said.
Upon seeing Ike's face, Boyd leapt backward in something between terror and disgust. "You don't have to tell me, Ike," he said. Ike rolled his eyes.
"Mister Ike," Amy shouted, "Mister Soren is GONE."
"Gone?" he asked, "Are you sure he didn't just get up early?"
"I checked EVERYWHERE in the fort. He's gone!" Amy cried.
Ike walked over to the outhouse and opened the door… without knocking.
"For the love of… can't a man take a piss without being walked in on by his worst enemy?" an irritated Shinon asked.
"Sorry," Ike said, "I thought it might have been Soren."
"And he is somehow exempt from the 'knock on the outhouse before opening the door' rule?" Shinon asked.
Ike got distracted when he saw Soren sleeping peacefully at the end of the forest. He was filthy and his pale skin was bruised by large fingers. Ike gingerly lifted him, trying with his utmost effort not to wake him, and placed him in bed.
