I'm actually so so sorry you have no idea. This story just fell out of my priorities list, and I got a big burst of inspiration not long ago, so I wrote this entire chapter. Again, though, sorry.

if you prefer reading on Archive of Our Own, it is on there, my username is Anubis_2701, so just look me up!

Thank you to the gorgeous people who have reviewed so far! You are all so nice and supportive of this story, and it really helps inspire me to write!

Before we jump in, some useful definitions:

Rikh-al: A type of headscarf
Creshkri: A term for someone beautiful or very attractive
Se: Yes

Szwicza District,
Bibesti,
Rela,
16th Janwir

Bibesti was dangerous at the best of times, and these were not the best of times.

Shadows leaped from the sides of buildings; animals scuttled in the dark corners of alleys and ran along sewers; the sides of narrow passageways were cluttered with abandoned crates, useless and broken objects, and the occasional dead body. The latter failed to unnerve Lovino anymore. After so much time in the Universe, things like this failed to shock or excite any form of emotion in him. Feliciano, however, was more susceptible, and let out small wails of horror and disgust whenever they passed by one. Lovino barely spared them a glance after he internally counted more than six. It was easy to pretend you couldn't see them, but much harder to pretend you couldn't smell them. The foul stench of decomposing flesh – sometimes human, sometimes not – was overpowering. So despite his indifferent attitude toward their presence in the streets, his eyes still watered. This unrelenting effect on his body then warranted his eyes to direct their gaze toward the cause.

Black, grey, blue, brown – the skin of the corpses was blotchy in colour – in some places, the cause of that being's death was evident. Lovino saw several corpses with gaping, evidently knife-borne injuries. Others had been shot. Some, judging by their mass, had simply lain down and died of starvation, or some sort of disease. In the few human corpses they came across, knife wounds seemed to be the primary cause of death. It was sickening to see how their eyes had rotted away, and how their bodies were bloated with gases as their organs slowly liquefied. At one point as they walked through the side-alleys, they found a much more recent one, with crephelias twisting their way through what had been the face of the being. Lovino had to shudder at this. Crephelias were long black creatures resembling worms – but they were carnivorous, and had rows and rows of razor sharp teeth.

Lovino noted that there were more bodies than usual along this way, and silently recalled the news they heard of crime spikes in the Southern districts. Sadly, Szwicza was one of said Southern districts. They were used to seeing crime, and had also been both victims and perpetrators of it in the past, so this hadn't bothered them when they were home-hunting. Lovino, however, had nothing but an 8-inch dagger strapped to his belt and his own two fists. He could use the dagger better than anyone else on these streets, and he did fistfight for a living, so he was experienced, but he would rather avoid trouble – at least until tomorrow. There were other ways to deter criminals, but he refused to use them. That would mean a long explanation to Feliciano, one that he wasn't sure he wanted to give yet. Of course, he would have to explain their lineage eventually, but preferably not for a while.

They exited one of the alleys and entered a wider, more open street. Here, Lovino could actually see the sky again, which relaxed him slightly. It was almost pitch black, though of course the planet's three moons were all visible in the sky, as well as a scattering of stars.

After what felt like an hour of walking through the gigantic city, they stumbled across a familiar sign, draped in neon and lit up brighter than the entirety of the suburbs behind them.

SZPINATEL'S GORGEOUS GIRLS – UPSTAIRS! TWO FOR ONE ON FRIDAYS!

It had not been Lovino's first choice, to buy an apartment just across the street from a brothel, but it had been cheapest, and besides, it wasn't like they ever actually went in there. Shaking his head at the sign, as he always did, Lovino grabbed Feliciano's arm and pulled him across the street, staring up at the building that housed their 'home away from home'. They entered the foyer, and he tensed slightly when he saw a group of people, dressed all in dark colours, standing not far from the stairs. The tension disappeared, however, when he recognised Sadik as one of them. The Nymian waved amiably at them. Lovino returned it, and he and Feliciano clambered up to the hydraulic platform that would take them to their level. He hit the button that read 176, and waited as the platform quickly ascended. The pair were silent as the platform rose, both too exhausted by the flight, ensuing violence and walk through the city to converse. Eventually, a loud clang rang out, signifying that they had arrived. They quickly stepped off before climbing the short flight of stairs that led to the hallway.

Opening the door from the platform to the hallway was like stepping into another building entirely. Whilst the platform was covered in wires and other cables that carried the entire thing skyward, the hallway into which they stepped looked very different. Simple wooden floors, with a few gaps between the boards, walls plastered with wallpaper that was half torn off, or otherwise uneven and stained, with doors at 10 metre intervals. Lovino blinked slightly at the familiar sight, feeling himself relax more, before pulling his chain of keys from the inside of his shirt and strolling to the left to their apartment – number 5268 – and opening the many locks, which still appeared to be shut correctly.

Lovino sighed in relief as he opened the door and found their small refuge intact and empty of life. He gestured to Feliciano that it was safe to enter, and strolled inside.

It was small, but not too cramped, as there were only two of them. Their apartment only consisted of three rooms and a hallway. Their front door opened into the largest room, which had a fireplace situated in the same wall as the door. The room had another wall opposite, which had a door that opened onto a small balcony made of the same metal structure as the ridiculously unstable fire escape that hugged the side of the building. A desk had been pushed against this wall, and was cluttered as they'd left it, with books and their limited writing utensils. A rickety chair that groaned everytime you shifted in it was tucked underneath.

Between the door and the desk was an old and very beaten up pair of sofas that they'd found abandoned on the streets – they faced the fireplace. An old rug knitted out of thin and stringy wool decorated the floor. To the left was two doors. One led to their small and somewhat grungy bathroom, the other to their kitchen, which Lovino prided himself on keeping clean. To the right, there was a cabinet filled with other assorted possessions of theirs, and two beds bolted to the wall, one above the other. The beds had storage space underneath, in which they had their emergency bags, in case they ever had to leave with a moment's notice. All of the rooms had peeling wallpaper in either pale green or dirty yellow, wooden floors and white plaster ceilings with suspicious stains and cracks scattered throughout.

Feliciano almost collapsed onto the bottom bunk, looking like he was ready to have a nice, long sleep. Lovino relocked the door behind him, tossed the keys onto the desk and shuffled into the kitchen to fix some food. He tried to make fresh food every few nights or so, and anything left over was put in their preservation boxes to be eaten later. He sifted through it for a moment or two before he unearthed a container of beef stew. Upon looking further, he found a half-loaf of herbed bread. Nodding in satisfaction, he quickly took to heating up the stew and bread, whilst quickly whipping together a pot of amber tea. About 15 minutes later, he had a small but homely meal put together. He arranged it on a tray, and carried it out into their main room. They didn't have a place to dine, so they tended to just eat on the floor in front of the fireplace, which Feliciano had lit.

Feli grinned when he saw the food and immediately helped him carry it to the floor.

"Thank you brother! It smells so good!" he exclaimed, uttering his first words in over three hours. Lovino allowed himself a small smile as they began to eat. It was good to have food in his stomach, and even better to be having it in a place that he knew was at least considerably safe. Feliciano inhaled his food within a few moments, and licked his fingers before turning to face Lovino again.

"So, what are we going to do now? Stay here for a while?" Feliciano said, sounding hopeful. Lovino knew he wasn't as invested in the idea of the resistance (for obvious reasons) and preferred to stay in the places that he knew. Lovino shrugged, sipping his tea.

"We might just stay here and earn a bit more money, maybe make this place a little more comfortable, buy a few more things if we can." He responded after a moment of thought. Feliciano clapped in delight.

"Yay! I do like it here, Lovi!" he giggled.

"I know you do," Lovino said, smiling slightly at his little brother's enthusiasm, "but right now, the only thing that you are going to do is sleep. Go on, you need it." Feliciano shot him a brief look that just said I need it?

True, Lovino was exhausted as well, but he had things to check first. Feliciano did as he asked, however, and clambered into the bottom bunk, pulling his thin blankets around him. Once he was sure that he was drifting off, Lovino pulled himself to his feet and moved over to their desk, pulling open the lowest of the drawers along the side. From it, he pulled out their Cell. He'd bartered a day and night for this thing, and was glad to finally have in his hands. A large number of beings in the Universe had their own Cell, or at least had access to one owned by a friend, or family. Since Lovino and his brother had neither of those things right now, he'd bought one. They were useful, it was true, but he was planning to use it only briefly before selling it onward again.

He opened the Index, feeling slightly shaky. The practice of displaying important figures in society on large electronic boards had gone out of fashion, as the bounty hunting industry had found itself polluted by inexperienced lowlifes looking for a little cashflow. A multitude of hunters had complained, and thus, less and less now used boards to promote their most wanted criminals and other undesirables. Lovino figured, since he was one of those wanted people, it wouldn't hurt to know what the Index had on him and his brother.

He flicked through the settings to adjust the listings by bounty, clicked 'refresh' and almost dropped the Cell.

He knew, of course, that the Union was willing to pay gargantuan amounts of money for their capture, but he didn't know that it was that fucking much.

All of the top five were the royals from Daerna, Syhvva and Fynkn, but he'd not been prepared for what he saw. Three had higher amounts because they were future heirs – Feli was technically only a prince, and there was also a princess from Fynkn who went for less than her elder brother – but Lovino had still not expected the results that were displayed on the screen. He felt nauseous, and had to take deep breaths as he paced back and forth.

Why, oh why, oh why was he at the top?

The future queen from Daerna and the king of Fynkn weren't far behind, but he still had quite the lead. The photo was one of him from his childhood, aged about 5 or so, even then with a grumpy look on his face. The price next to that face seemed so absurd, yet that was his going rate nowadays, apparently. The average slave went for about 20 million marks, the really good ones between 30 and 50 million marks. Apparently your average Syhvvanian future king went for 1,000 times that much. He wanted to wipe his eyes, and double check, but he knew that the number displayed on the screen wouldn't change.

Nope, apparently, to the Union, he was worth 50 billion fucking marks. The other two future heirs went for 45 billion each, whilst Feliciano and the Fynknian princess, Emilia or something like that, went for 30 billion each. No wonder that people had not yet stopped looking for them. Money like that could let you and your family live in the epitome of luxury for several generations. It was understandable why people wanted that kind of money.

But why was he more than the others?

It stumped him for a few minutes, until he realised, oh, of course.

Syhvva still had their current ruler – Lovino and Feliciano's grandfather, Romulus, who'd retained his throne after the deaths of their parents Carina and Marco. From what Lovino remembered, however, their grandfather had not enjoyed his years of rule after his daughter – their mother's – death. Carina Vargas had been an excellent queen, but she had died prematurely, along with her husband (who adopted her surname, as was tradition for their family) – and left the planet of Syhvva with two very small children, or one slightly old but still perfectly serviceable Vargas to be ruler again. So their grandfather had reluctantly retaken the throne, though he'd been unhappy about it.

If the people of Syhvva knew that they were alive, they would rally even further behind their existing leader for them, and their people were fiercely proud.

But also, the Gifts of Syhvvanian royalty were the most powerful as well. Those of the Daernic and Fynknian were strong, but inequity between each one resulted in less power overall. The Syhvvanian Gifts, however, were very strong overall, and the Union likely didn't want someone with that type of power running around free, stirring up rebellions.

It made sense, yes, that Lovino was at the top, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

The idea of so many people pursuing him was terrifying, that he wasn't afraid to admit. They'd survived so far, but Feliciano could not go on in ignorance about himself for that much longer. Which left only one plan of action. He didn't have to do it straight away, but he definitely could not keep putting it off indefinitely.

He would have to tell Feliciano everything.

On the outskirts of Nakuuria,
Aralos
17th Janwir

Lukas still hated Aralos, but for the first time, it wasn't the endless, dry wastes that he was hating. No, this time, it was the extravagant wealth and beauty that he was hating. Two ideas that normally didn't go together, he knew. It was almost as though fate were taunting them. They had finally emerged from the dusty, wide Rykkné Plains, only to find themselves on the outskirts of a large, evidently well-off city. The buildings were not like those that they had already seen in Aralos. Rather than the somewhat unstable, fabric and tent-like buildings they'd already come across, the buildings in this city were carved from sandstone or made from very hard-packed dirt. Balconies were visible on multiple, with silk tarps used to provide shade. Lukas and Lia could see little other than this, due to the walls of the cities. Most Aralosian cities were walled, actually, to keep out undesirables – particularly raiders. A place as wealthy as this probably needed these walls more than other places did.

Built from sandstone and multiple other types of stone in varying shades of grey and red, the walls were almost seven metres tall, topped with sharp spires that stood about 20 centimetres apart. Even from the distance that they were at, Lukas could see soldiers dressed in sand-coloured robes patrolling the walls. On one side of the walls, Lukas could see a massive wooden gateway, with more guards still lounging outside.

Lia, who like him had come to a halt when they'd reached the crest of the hill, now turned to him, where he could see her raising her eyebrows under the rikh-al she had donned to protect herself from the heat.

"Well?" she asked simply. Lukas sighed, glancing over at his sister.

"Might as well." He admitted.

The guards by the front gates looked up as they approached on foot, having dismounted. Though Lukas was expecting the normally frosty, bitter attitude of most Aralosians, the guard that stepped forward to greet them had a pleasant, unassuming smile on his face.

"Hello friends! How can we help you?" he said in the Common Standard; heavy accent to accompany it. Lukas and Lia exchanged a brief look, recollecting what they had agreed to say at the gates.

"We are travellers, sir. We are tired, and need a place to rest. Please, good sir, can you grant us entry?" Lukas said carefully, trying to evoke as much sympathy as possible. Though he normally wasn't emotional by any definition, he was quite the convincer. It normally helped, for whatever reason, if the being he was talking to was a female or non-heterosexual male. The guard to whom he was speaking was likely the latter, as he seemed slightly pleased, a light flush to his cheeks. He leaned forward slightly.

"Shelter, you say? I am sure that I can arrange that for you, sirrah. Our king is very welcoming to travellers, you know, I'm sure he will be delighted to accommodate the pair of you." Lukas shot a grateful and (hopefully) beguiling smile at the guard.

"Oh, that would be much appreciated sir." He said, glancing sideways at Lia, who had also donned her best smile. The guard turned and yelled to his fellows in another tongue, before giving Lukas a look that was definitely more libidinous than he was completely comfortable with, and gestured to the door, which was now slowly being cranked open. Lukas remounted, checking to see that Lia had done the same, before spurring their mounts to enter the city.

The city was, as it turned out, named Nakuuria, after it's king and founder, Mirakh Nakuur. At least, that was what their flirtatious guide told them. He'd sent on a messenger to inform the king of their presence – apparently, this king liked to know who was in his city, and when. That made Lukas slightly uneasy. It was bad enough that they were getting curious stares from people who were walking through the streets, but if the king knew they were here, well, it would just leave more witnesses – more people aware of their presence.

Of course, it was ridiculous for Lukas to be so high-strung. They looked nothing like their native Fynknian appearance. In their years away from their home, their fair skin had tanned and darkened under the more intense suns of other planets, and their hair was currently a rich auburn colour – nothing like it's natural white-blond and silver respectively. Besides, the pictures of them that were so heavily featured on the Index were from their childhood, and they looked completely different now. Perhaps he was just paranoid, but he couldn't shake the worry that plagued his mind.

Lia had shifted her rikh-al so that it no longer concealed her face, staring around the city with wonder. She listened to the guard as he told them amiably about the history and culture of the city. Lukas tuned in just enough to hear a few interesting facts. Apparently, Nakuuria was the largest and richest city in Aralos – which was evident from even the briefest of glances. Their king lived in the massive villa located toward the inside of the city – which was what the guard was leading them toward right now. The streets were not hard to get through, despite having been filled with a collection of shopping citizens, other horses and animals being led along by their owners and the occasional clump of stands, selling rich, delicious-looking fruit and all sorts of other goods. Their guard, who was named Vaek, stopped to buy them some fruit from one of said stands and relax for a few minutes; all the while talking cheerfully. Collecting some more of the fruit to go, they continued onward. Lukas was silent as he ate, looking up only when he realised he had been asked a question. He blinked, embarrassed to have missed it.

"Sorry, what?" he inquired. Vaek did not look offended, on the other hand, he slapped Lukas on the back and laughed.

"Ahh, stay with us creshkri! I simply asked what your names are!"

"Oh." Lukas blinked, before nodding in understanding, "Adem Agresti." He supplied, then nudged his sister, "This is Sinta."

Vaek nodded, smiling wider. "Nice names you have!" he nodded again, as though confirming the fact once more. He turned to Lia, frowning slightly. "I am sorry to pry messiss, but how old are you?"

Lia blinked, looking taken aback by the question. "Uhh, 15."

Lukas could have sworn that he saw Vaek's smile waver, and some dark emotion flicker in his eyes, but before he could be certain, the smile returned, bright as ever.

"Se nice, se nice, just wondering!" but Vaek fell oddly silent after this short exchange, which made suspicion churn in Lukas' stomach. He felt like there was something he'd heard once, about Nakuuria…

Before he could think on it anymore, however, Vaek let out a loud sound of triumph and gestured to the gilded doors of the King's villa. They were finally here, and they were not alone. The messenger had clearly arrived ahead of them. Vaek flinched slightly when he looked at the small group of people assembled outside, but said nothing. He smiled again, dismounted, and gestured for them to do the same. Lukas clambered to the ground, then held out his hand for his sister to take. She accepted, and dropped down next to him.

One of the people assembled outside the doors broke away from the group to approach them. It was clear that he was the king, Mirakh. He was tall, first off, about 6'6'', with skin that was borderline Qyyytish in tone, with dark grey hair that fell to his shoulders. Some sections had been twisted into braids and tied back with bronze bands. Even his beard was braided, and Lukas could even spot some jade beads that had been strung on as well. He was dressed in a simple white shirt and black pants with fine leather shoes. What marked him out as a king was the long stole he wore – crimson silk embroidered with gold thread and pearls. He wore no crown, but pearls were ridiculously hard to come by on Aralos, and only the most elite of the most elite could afford them.

Well, that, and he introduced himself as such.

"Good evening, my friends!" he said, spreading his arms invitingly, "I am King Mirakh Nakuur, though I am sure you already guessed as much. Welcome to my city! I trust you will find it pleasing. We rarely get visitors anymore, for reasons I will never know – my land is a haven compared to the rest of this broken, battered planet, is it not?" wanting to be polite, despite already disliking and distrusting the King of Nakuuria, Lukas nodded. The king ran his eyes over him briefly, and turned to inspect Lia. He took much longer on her; eyes dwelling such that Lukas had to suppress the sudden and violent urge to break his nose. The king's staring, however, unnerved Lia even more, and she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. It was when he began to stare for far too long at her chest, however, that she huffed in irritation. As if remembering himself, he straightened and smiled.

"My friends, what are your names? This curiosity plagues me so!" Lia looked very uneasy now, and Lukas couldn't blame her. But they needed a place to stay. Yes, the king might be a bit of a pervert, but they needed rest and supplies badly. Lukas cleared his throat and repeated the answer he had given Vaek.

"Sinta?" the king raised an eyebrow at that. "Such a beautiful name. It suits you, creshkri."

"Uhh, thank you, your majesty." She said, fiddling with her sleeves to avoid making eye-contact.

"Anyway, friends, I understand that you are quite under the weather. You need rest, supplies, new mounts, perhaps?" he said, looking at their scrawny and dirty mounts. Lukas glanced at Lia, and nodded.

"Yes, your majesty, we do."

"Well!" the king bellowed, clapping his hands together loudly, "I will be happy to accommodate you in my castle until you can leave. I'll see that you are well taken care of. That sounds good, yes?"

Lukas had to nod, primarily because not only did he likely not have a choice, but it did sound very good.

"What would you like in return, your majesty? Surely we could repay such kindness." Lia said. The king waved a hand, but Lukas could already tell that he still wanted something.

"Oh, so considerate. I am, now that I think of it, having an important banquet in three night's time. I would be honoured if you two would indulge me with your company. The young and attractive are always favoured at these events. You need not pay for clothes or food, I want only your camaraderie. Fair enough, yes?"

Lukas hesitated, but really, what else could he say? It was a fair offer.

"Yes, we'll gladly accompany you, your majesty."

"Excellent! Then come in, please, you look completely drained. Vaek, you can be the escort and guide for our visitors, yes?"

Vaek nodded, but his face had taken on a strained, stiff look, much contrary to the smile he'd borne before. Lukas' unease mounted, but the idea of resting was so irresistible right now. Besides, if it came down to it, he could get the two of them out no problem. His Gifts were quiet strong by this point. Lukas chanced a quick look behind him at the rest of the city, stretching out and illuminating the darkness of the desert. He felt cool air on his face as the doors of the King's villa were opened, and, against his better judgement, stepped inside.