A/N: So, chapter four. I have little to say, except to thank RegalBryantLover for the frequent reviews. They make the sun shine on my self esteem!

I'm hoping to keep Faith as a main, yet side character at the same time. She'll know how to defend herself, but I'm undecided on what her main weapon/fighting style will be, so we shall see about that.

We waited… but not for long.

After only about ten minutes of comfortable silence interrupted only by periodic yawns, clearing of throats, and other mild noises and actions on both our parts, Zelos perked up and glanced past me. I jumped, brought out of my thoughts by his sudden movements and followed his gaze down the lane and past the other manors and large houses that sat adjacent and alongside Ezekiel's.

"Looks like your 'escort' is here." The handsome Chosen said, pointing down the road. I almost immediately spotted Zeke running toward the house like a sprinter on the final stretch, looking rather frazzled. I smiled, standing up and waving to him, swinging my arms over my head wildly to get his attention.

"Oi, Zeeeeeke!" I called out happily. He spotted me and smiled widely, seeming to let out a huge sigh of relief. It took the male barely ten seconds to sprint up the stairs, reach me and crush me in a hug.

"Faith! I'm so glad you're okay!" he exclaimed, squeezing even tighter and crushing the breath out of me when I hugged back. I simply nodded and nuzzled into his chest, glad he had found me. I was sure he'd been worried and I'd felt bad for putting him through so much trouble.

"So, I finally learn the mysterious cutey's name. Faith, huh? A cute name for a cute girl." Zelos interjected with a chuckle. It seemed the Chosen had put his mask of boundless ego and girl-crazy stereotyping back on. Zeke loosened his grip on me long enough to glance at the other redhead before him. "Nice to see you, Zeke." Zelos said, resting his hands on his hips with a cheerful grin. Ezekiel nodded, with an amicable smile.

"You too, Zelos. I assume it was you who guided Faith back here?" He spoke with an amused tone, his head cocked to one side. Zelos simply nodded.

"Yeah. You really shouldn't abandon helpless women in the Markets, Zeke." He teased with a smirk. Ezekiel only rolled his eyes at the comment.

"That's because you'll find them. Thank goodness Faith can keep her wits about her, even while being bombarded by empty-headed tail-chasers like you." He shot back playfully. Zelos laughed and reeled back as if he'd been punched.

"Ooh, low blow. Low blow." He said, putting his hands up to protect himself. "Gonna invite me in?" A long ruby lock fell off his shoulder to dangle down his chest as he tilted his head slightly, with an even bigger grin. I simply smiled and began to wriggle out of Ezekiel's grip, which was still tight and protectively wrapped around my upper body.

"Why don't we all go in?" I suggested, gesturing toward the door. Ezekiel smiled, letting me go and nodding.

"A very sensible suggestion." He replied, taking a key from his pocket and unlocking the door. As soon as it was open, he held it open for me and Zelos to enter first, before he himself stepped inside, closing the door behind him. I paused, hanging back as Zelos proceeded into the living room to glance at Zeke apologetically.

"I'm sorry about earlier today. I spaced out and when I looked up, you were gone." I said, feeling rather guilty. However, the redhead simply smiled and shook his head, hugging me again.

"The only thing I worried about was your safety." He replied calmly. "Now that I know you're safe, I'm at ease. I'm most certainly not angry, okay? Now, go ask Zelos if he'd like to stay for dinner." I beamed and nodded, letting him go and heading out into the living room.

"Hey, Mr. Zelos." I said cheerfully, settling on the couch next to the effeminately dressed male. He glanced at me with an amused expression.

"Mr. Zelos? I like that…" he said with a thoughtful expression before chuckling. "What's up, hunny?" I simply glanced down at my feet, sighing.

"Thank you for your help today. I really don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come along." I admitted honestly. The Chosen seemed almost surprised, but after a few moments of silence, he nodded with a charming smirk.

"Well, I'm certainly glad you're all safe now, but if you really want to thank me, you could always give me a kiss…" he said playfully, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me nearly flush against his side. For a moment, I blushed a bright crimson and I noticed the victorious smirk on Zelos' face. My gaze, however, quickly turned icy as I realized I was giving the male exactly what he was hoping to achieve and I stared at him pointedly, waiting until he got the point that I wasn't actually going to swoon all over him, no matter what the fangirl inside me was saying. After a moment, the icy glare worked and Zelos' cocky look fell off his face. He sighed, letting me go and I immediately distanced myself.

"Are you staying for dinner?" I asked, trying not to sound embarrassed by what had just happened. In response, I got a lively grin, that spread across his entire face quickly.

"You kidding? Not even a crazy person would turn down Zeke's cooking! Tell him thanks for me." Zelos replied excitedly, ruffling my hair. I growled and attempted to fix it, standing and making a mental point to ask him later why he went from treating me like hungry man would treat a piece of meat, and treating me like a child. I was only a few years younger than him, after all, and many people said I looked older than my age. (It'd gotten me into trouble before as well.)

"Zeke?" I called as I stepped into the kitchen. Immediately, a pair of emerald eyes focused on me and I smiled. "Zelos accepts your offer and says thank you." I said, standing in front of the counter. "Now, give me something to do. I'm itching to keep my hands busy."

"I could give you something to do…" came a cocky voice from the doorway, and I had to curb the instinct to chuck the nearest thing to my hand, which was a large knife, in Zelos' direction. Zeke simply shook his head.

"Idiot." He said to the Chosen with a chuckle, passing me a recipe and the cake ingredients, including the fruit we'd bought earlier. I diligently began reading the recipe, eager for something to distract me from the male on the other side of the room who, when I looked over my shoulder at him, was once again smirking rather victoriously.

"Shut up!" I snapped, surprising both men with the force and frustration behind my voice. Zelos glanced at Zeke, and Zeke at Zelos. Then they both looked at me and back to each other.

"I didn't say anything. Did you?"

"Not that I know of."

"Faith must be hearing things." I heard Zelos chuckle after this statement and I glared over my shoulder.

"You know, I'm pretty sure you'd make a really nice target for knife-throwing practice." I threatened, holding up my knife. It was a good six inches long and very sharp. The ruby-haired Chosen blinked and promptly shut up, much to my great relief. Turning the oven on and letting it preheat, I began chopping up the fruit and putting them in a bowl, covering them to be mixed in later.

Baking had always been one of my favorite things to do with my mother, so, naturally, I was quite good at it. However, baking with such basic tools was a new and interesting challenge. I found myself wishing I had my electric mixer and so on, but made due with a hand crank one. Even with the lack of baking luxuries, the work itself relaxed me and I smiled, feeling at peace for once.

Eventually, I had the cake mix all finished and I poured half of the chopped kirima into the batter, leaving the other half for on top. Another mix and the cake batter had a cute pink color to it, thanks to the fruit. I smiled and placed the bowl off to one side.

"Where's a cake pan, Zeke?" I asked, looking through cupboards. The male at the counter crouched, opening a large sliding drawer and pulling a pan out for me.

"Here." He said, passing me the pan, which was the perfect size. I thanked him, placing it on the counter and pouring the batter into it. As I was flattening the top so it would bake nicely, I felt a weight on my shoulder, to find Zelos leaning over me, with his chin on my shoulder, watching intently.

"Can I help you?" I nearly snapped, though I managed to curb the frustration and simply spoke calmly, watching the Chosen shift slightly to glance at me playfully from the corner of his eye.

"Can I lick the spoon?" he asked in an almost childish manner and I couldn't help but deadpan. What was he, six? However, I smiled. The question and the way he was looking at me were both so amusing… It was a cross between "I'm trying to be cute to win you over" and "I'm trying to woo you with my ungodly sexiness." Neither was really working, but it was amusing to see him try. After a few more finishing touches and a flourish that didn't go unnoticed by the eagerly waiting Chosen, as it got an extra bit of batter on the spoon, (not for any reason, really. I was just feeling nice. It definitely wasn't because he was being uncharacteristically cute and it was reminding me of my sister in a twisted way.) I handed the implement over.

"Here." I said in a tone that was a cross of defeat and amusement. I watched as Zelos gave the spoon an experimental lick, then grinned and proceeded to lick the batter off as he leaned against the counter. Meanwhile, I picked up the pan and cautiously slid it into the oven, which was not hot enough to bake the dessert.

"You're a damn good baker, Faith." Zelos said, as he finally cleaned off the wooden spoon. I took it from him with a smile.

"Why, thank you." I replied, good-naturedly. For some reason, my mood had just brightened considerably and I was content, even with the perverted Chosen standing over me and watching me work over my shoulder.

"What else are you good at, hunny?" the male asked, tilting his head so he could see my face. I shrugged vaguely.

"I don't know... I… I draw, and I'm pretty sure I can swing poi rather well… and I know some basic staff techniques. I can, um…" I trailed off, knowing I couldn't reveal knowing Capoeira and Aikido, because I highly doubted those existed here. And even if pole dancing did, I was not, repeat, NOT going to reveal that in my current company.

Zelos seemed satisfied with the info I'd already given, however, and he was looking rather impressed.

"A lady of many talents. How come a cute hunny like you knows how to fight?" he asked, smiling. I looked up at him and shrugged.

"If I knew that, perhaps I wouldn't be here." I replied cleverly, raising an eyebrow. Zelos fell silent after than, retreating to his own thoughts.

Next, I worked on the icing, mixing the icing sugar, leftover chopped kirima and a little bit of water. Eventually, through a bit of trial and error, I had a gooey, yet firm pink icing. I could feel Zelos bristle beside me, and I smacked his stealthy hand away without even having to look at it.

"You can wait until dessert." I said firmly, and Zelos gave a small 'hmph', pouting and sitting at the table once more, much to Zeke's great amusement.

"You look like a toddler when you pout, Zelos." He said, shaking his head and returning to the slices of beef he was laying in a sandwich, which only caused the Chosen to pout even more.

By this point, the kitchen was alive with wonderful smells and I sighed, leaning against the counter and enjoying the aromas. Zeke noticed and smiled, dipping a spoon in the beef broth and offering it to me. I blinked and accepted it, taking a taste.

Wow.

Just wow.

"This is amazing, Zeke! You have to share the recipe!" I exclaimed excitedly. The young man just laughed and scratched the back of his head modestly.

"Aw, it's not that great." He said, looking quite embarrassed. To prove him wrong, I stole another spoonful and handed the spoon off to Zelos. The Chosen took his taste as well, with the same reaction as mine.

"Whoa! That's an amazing broth, Zeke." He said with a grin. However, he then leaned over to me and waved the spoon in front of my face. "… Though I'm sure that indirect kiss made it all the better. Heheheh…"

"Ugh. Pervert." I sighed, shoving him away and sitting on the opposite side of the table as Ezekiel quickly turned back to his sandwich, blushing brightly at the dual compliments on his cooking.

"By the way, Zeke." Zelos spoke up suddenly, eyeing the other redhead. "What's become of Riccio these days? I haven't seen him or his little sister around much." I listened curiously and saw Zeke make a quick movement that wasn't quite a flinch.

"He's, uh, doing some field work. Far away." He said hesitantly, not meeting the gaze of either of us sitting at the table as he filled three small bowls with broth, and placed them on plates, also laying a sandwich alongside the bowls. He set one in front of me and one in front of the Chosen before returning to get his own.

"Far away? Like, near Flanoir?" Zelos pressed, raising an eyebrow. Ezekiel continued to refuse to meet his gaze, but nodded quickly. I felt it was my turn to interject.

"Who's Riccio?" I asked, tilting my head and looking innocently at Zeke. Apparently, this Riccio guy was someone Zeke wasn't too comfortable talking to, but I had to wonder why that was, exactly. Ezekiel sighed and gazed at me with a wary expression. When it was clear he wasn't going to speak, Zelos did instead.

"Riccio is Zeke's lover." He said with a grin. "They're always wandering around hand in hand and causing scandals around the city. But Riccio's been gone for a while, hasn't he?" he asked Zeke, who seemed to sink into his chair.

"Yes. He has…" he replied, sounding more than a little uncomfortable and no less lonely. "Like I said. He's out doing fieldwork. He is a scientist, after all..." Zelos nodded.

"Ah, he'll be back soon, I'm sure." He said, slapping Zeke on the back. "No reason to get so bent out of shape over it." I frowned, quite sure something was amiss here. Why was Ezekiel so hesitant to talk about Riccio? I held my tongue, however, seeing how uncomfortable the man was getting, and simply focused on eating my dinner. Zelos, seemingly oblivious to the other's discomfort, continued bombarding Zeke with questions.

"What's he studying?"

"I don't know…"

"Well, where is he?"

"Not sure…"

"Seriously, do you know anything about him?"

"Not really…"

I sighed, and then an idea formed in my head. Not a smart one whatsoever, but by the time my brain caught up with my mouth, it was much too late.

"Is he in Sylvarant?" I asked absent-mindedly. Then I stopped as I realized both men were looking at me, alarmed and concerned expressions on their faces.

Shit.

Wrong thing to say…

"How do you know about Sylvarant?" Zelos asked, forgetting about pestering Ezekiel and turning his attention to me. I blinked at the intense stare he was giving me and bit back a whimper. I didn't like direct confrontation. Not like this. When my friends got into this sort of thing, I always backed away. Now, though, well… I was just screwed. What does one so once they've shoved not only their foot, but their whole leg in their mouth and down their esophagus? Shitshitshit. What was it my sister always did? That's right.

Play dumb.

"I… I-I…" I stuttered for a moment, wearing a confused expression. "I… don't know." Though neither male seemed satisfied with my answer, they both settled down slightly and relaxed in their chairs.

"It's that amnesia, huh?" Ezekiel said hesitantly. "Was that the only thing you remembered?" Both he and Zelos watched me expectantly, but I only sighed in response and responded softly.

"I… N-no. Not really. I just know that Sylvarant is… another world… and that they're connected somehow, but we can't get to it." I tried to remember all I could about Sylvarant and Tethe'Alla. They're on separate dimensions, they vie for the dwindling mana supply, what else…? Oh! The Great Seed! I decided not to reveal any of my knowledge of that and simply shrugged sheepishly at the men sitting next to and across from me. "… Sorry."

"I don't get how you could know. I mean, that stuff was very heavily guarded within the people who knew…" Zelos said softly, more to himself than anybody else. "I suppose there must be more to your missing past than we know." His gaze was a bit odd, and making me quite uncomfortable. I looked away, opting to stare at my plate instead. Then, I heard Zeke sigh.

"Since everybody already knows, yes. Riccio is in Sylvarant." He admitted, staring soberly at his plate. "The Research Institute in Sybak and the Church combined got him passage to go there and collect data on their world… but I have my suspicions about that. After all…" he paused to look from me to Zelos and then back down again. "His personal lab was burned down just after he left, and all his materials were destroyed… What if he was studying something big? Something that could change our lives? And… the Church got him out of the way to make sure nothing changed. There has to be a reason."

Zelos looked at Ezekiel, surprised. He, too, had heard about the burnt lab and the conspiracies that rose about it, but it had never been mentioned that Riccio was in Sylvarant. All anybody had known, even himself, was that the scientist was Missing In Action and had yet to turn up.

"Sylvarant, huh…" he said in a pondering tone, catching Ezekiel's attention. "Well, who knows? We won't get anywhere by sitting around and being worrywarts about it. Best to move onto more cheerful and current topics of conversation." He said, shrugging and looking at me. "So, Faith, got a boyfriend~?" I glared at him.

"Not appropriate, Zelos." I snapped back, looking away stubbornly as I stood and moved to the oven, checking on the cake and discovering happily that it was finished baking. I pulled it out, carefully maneuvering it out of the cake pan and placing it on a plate before beginning to spread the glaze-like icing on top. The Chosen watched me and sighed.

"Fine. What about a job? I'm sure Zeke hasn't started charging you rent yet, but shouldn't you have some disposable income of your own and a small amount of savings, in case of some sort of emergency?" he suggested. I looked at him as I brought the cake, three forks, a knife, and three plates to the table, and blinked. To think that such an intelligent sounding statement had come from… Zelos. Wow.

"No… I've only been here a day and a half, so I really haven't thought about it…" I admitted, shrugging. "Besides. I'm really not sure what I could do around here as a job…"

"Leave it to me!" The Chosen said cheerfully, prompting both Zeke and I to regard him with skeptical expressions as we cut our pieces of cake.

"I'm hesitant to ask what kind of job you could get for her." My caretaker said, prompting Zelos to chuckle and shake his head, sitting down and serving himself as well.

"It's nothing shady. Honest! The castle is short a few maids and they asked me, the Great Zelos Wilder, to find a few hunnies who would be up to the task. That's all!"

I pondered for a few moments. A maid…? Like, cleaning rooms? I have enough trouble keeping my room clean, I thought to myself doubtfully. However, I also didn't want Ezekiel to have to support me the whole time I was with him… and who knew how long that would be? Eventually, I gave in to the eager and patient gazes of Zelos and Ezekiel, respectively.

"I guess I could give it a shot." I said awkwardly, immediately noting Zelos' goofy grin with a note of suspicion.

"Alright!" he exclaimed, standing and grabbing a piece of paper and pencil from the counter and jotting a few things down. I realized quickly that they were instructions, which he passed to me, under the protective and watchful eye of Ezekiel. I glanced at the note as I took a bite of my hard-earned dessert.

"Maid Job For Hunny Faith." was scrawled in loopy writing at the top and I sighed exasperatedly before reading on. It was a list of things to do. "Tell the guards at the door to the castle you're was applying for a job, under the of the recommendation of the Chosen." Easy enough. "Find Mariposa inside the castle and apply for job." Again, pretty simple. "Enjoy~"

"Heh. Thanks, Zelos." I said, smiling softly at the ruby-haired Chosen who grinned back and finished off his piece of cake. I swore, if the male had a tail, it would be wagging. Passing the note to Ezekiel, who was acting protective again, he read through it and, seeming satisfied, passed it back.

"I'll walk you to the castle tomorrow." He said, with a nod. "I have to go back to the Markets tomorrow, anyway and it's on the way." I felt a twinge of guilt seep into me.

"You don't need to go back because of what happened today, do you?" I asked, feeling bad. Ezekiel stared at me for a few moments, then blinked and chuckled.

"No! No, it's alright. It's not because I didn't get a chance to or anything. I only thought about it a little while ago." He reassured with a soft smile as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Honestly." I hesitated, staring hard at his expression, but detecting no lies, I nodded, feeling myself relax slightly. I opened my mouth to thank Ezekiel, and instead, a huge yawn made its presence known, prompting Zeke and Zelos to both chuckle. I bristled in exasperation. I felt like a child under both their stares and collected the now empty dessert plates, taking them to the sink.

"Hey, cutie. Go rest up. It's been a big day, after all." Zelos said, standing up and stretching. I blinked over at him, narrowing my eyes.

"I'm fi-i-ine…" I said around another wide yawn and cursed my 'eight hours of sleep a night or exhaustion the following day' schedule that often haunted me. I had to admit, I was rather tired and so, bidding Zelos and Ezekiel a grudging and quick good night, I ascended the staircase to my room, where I kicked off my boots and sighed, changing into the cotton nightgown I'd worn the last few nights. Sitting on the bed, I stretched comfortably and flopped back onto the mattress, closing my eyes against the lamp that still lit the room.

"… little bit suspicious… ask me…"

I blinked and sat up, looking around. Where had that come from? Moving from the bed, which made noisy springy sounds whenever I sat on it, to the floor, which was much quieter, I listened closely.

"… could have known… Sylvarant?"

Was that… coming from below me? I looked down, frowning slightly. It sounded a bit like Zelos… Though the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' struck me for a moment, curiosity got the better of this kitten and I laid on the floor, pressing my ear to the boards. Apparently, Zeke and Zelos had retreated to the living room, which was directly under my room, because the voices immediately grew louder and easier to understand, though some parts I still couldn't make out, much to my annoyance.

"I know, find a girl, save her life… home, it's a bit odd. Added to that… can't remember any of her past…"

"I'm more concerned… knows about secrets… Sylvarant."

Dread grew in my stomach as realization dawned on me.

They were talking about me. Zeke was speaking now.

"… more precautious side of me… turn her over to the King."

"You wouldn't. She reminds you too much… his little sister."

"Shut up… I know that."

Slightly confused and rather alarmed, I kept my ear pressed tightly to the floorboards.

"Play it safe… turn her in, or keep her around?"

"She's odd… no doubt… keeping her around."

"I knew you'd decide that… won't stop you."

"Thanks, Zelos."

Their conversation apparently over, I sat up, frowning. They were talking about me, and how I was suspicious… Damn it. I never should have let that Sylvarant comment slip, I thought sourly to myself as I climbed into bed, settling under the sheet and blanket. But… Zeke defended me, didn't he? He said he wanted to keep me around. Comforted by this thought, I smiled to myself. I liked Ezekiel. He was a good guy.

I yawned again, and then sleep took me.

A/N: Blah. Mostly a chapter to get some more vital info on the storyboard. I'm not super duper proud of this chapter, but it gets stuff done. -kicks Ezekiel-

Ezekiel: Ow! Jerk… Please review so that Con will stop drawing me in girly outfits like maid costumes and tutus… She's destroying my image.

Me: Muahahaha!