When I'd originally posted this chapter, I'd just finished second year of university and now I'm graduating this year so my update times for this have majorly sucked. Hopefully now that it's rewritten the way I want it, things will be better!

DISCLAIMER: Since I literally always forget to put one of these, I think it's obvious that I don't own any of these characters, and that they belong to the Tales franchise! (except for the ones that don't, obviously)


The current of the stream wasn't strong, but it took me what felt like several minutes nonetheless to find my way back to the surface. When I did, I immediately pounced on Blair again, using all the strength I could to hold her head under the water.

She, naturally, was stronger, and was able to fling me off of her with ease. As soon as I was pushed back, she lunged at me, keeping me pressed to the riverbed with a knife to my throat.

"You're brave," she hissed, using her free hand to grab a fistful of my hair and yank my head back to expose my throat. I started to tremble as I felt the cold steel gently rest against my neck. "I have to say, I find it rather unexpected that you would actually try to drown me like that. I did not take you for a killer." She pressed the knife down a little more, and my breathing hitched. "Tell me, would you truly have done it?"

I didn't answer straight away. All I could do for a minute was stare into her wide doe-eyes, blank and unfocused and dangerous. Despite the fact that it probably went against the rules of her job, I had no trouble imagining her slitting my throat right now. Even knowing that, how could I ever willingly kill another human being? I heaved a shuddering sigh, my throat thick with fear and the threat of crying.

"I-I don't know," I replied. "I don't want anyone to die. I just know that I can't go back to that place. Please don't take me. Please." My voice broke and tears I hadn't felt I was holding came spilling down my cheeks. "You of all people should understand."

"Have a bit of responsibility," she said, making a light "tsk" noise with her tongue. "Don't you realize your role in this situation? You only remained with Dr. Elias for a short time. You are painfully unaware of how things operate. The rest of us served our time until our purpose was fulfilled. However, in your case..."

"Please." I sniffed back my tears to give her a fierce look. "I don't know what happened to make you like this, but it's wrong. We should be helping each other! Keegan is going to get us home. I don't think he even knows that you're - "

"I'm tired of talking about this," she said with a sigh. She pressed the knife down harder against my neck, and I felt a choking pain as it bit into my skin. "Shall we make a deal? Come quietly, and perhaps I can convince Dr. Elias to explain things for you. Only if you cooperate. What do you say?"

"I'm not...c-coming..." I started coughing, my throat muscles convulsing around the blade and making the pain worse. "Please...p-please..."

The knife was suddenly wrenched away from my neck, and I didn't bother looking for my saviour right away. So grateful for air, I let out a choked gasp and collapsed to my knees, the water rising up to my chest. My eyes were blurry with thick tears, but I could see that the water was becoming tainted with blood. Who was bleeding?

Oh...I was.

"Get your hands off of me, spirit," Blair spat.

"I won't tolerate you attacking my companions," Milla said calmly. I didn't look up, but I assumed she had Blair by the hair.

I felt gentle hands on my shoulders and I flinched, letting out a whimper.

"Hey! It's just me," Jude. Safe, kind, Jude. My frantic nerves calmed themselves a bit.

"J-Jude...I'm so sorry. She was going to take me back..." I glanced up at him. His amber eyes were filled with concern. Confusion. "I-I'm sorry, Jude."

"Stop apologizing," he said gently. With a bit of hesitation, he held his hands towards my neck. I wasn't so much of a mess that I wasn't able to realize he wanted to heal me. I fell still, and was able to breathe more easily once the soothing light from his hands passed across my throat.

"You're outnumbered," Alvin chimed in from...somewhere. Up on the bank, maybe. "I don't know what you want with the girl, but you're not getting near her now. You're better off leaving while you still can."

Blair, who'd managed to break free from Milla's grasp at this point, glared up at him. As she did, her expression softened back to that same, dreamy state it always seemed to be in, and she seemed to come to some sort of conclusion.

"You're absolutely right." Despite the fact that she was standing at the other end of Milla Maxwell's sword, Blair looked completely calm. Her eyes slowly flitted from person to person until they finally fell on me. "This isn't the end, little mouse. Dr. Elias will have you back." With that, she climbed up onto the riverbank and started sprinting away.

"H-Hey!" Jude called out angrily, quickly moving to follow suit. "We can't just let her get away like that!"

"Let her go," said Alvin calmly, waving a dismissive hand. "As long as we're around, she won't come back to try anything."

Jude scowled at him. "I'm not sure how I feel about you letting all of the mysterious women who attack us escape, Alvin."

I cast my eyes down to the water. I didn't want to say anything, but I agreed with Jude. That cat-ears girl had been one thing – I didn't doubt Milla could handle herself if it came down to it. But now that he was brushing aside the very girl who brought me here? I mean, it wasn't like he knew that Blair was the one who brought me here, but I was assuming it was pretty obvious what she'd come after me for today. I was weak. I couldn't defend myself if she caught me alone again. What was he thinking? Hurt and panic mixed behind my eyes and I almost started crying again.

"Hey, if you want to go pick a fight with that fox, be my guest," said Alvin. "As things stand now, though, there wouldn't be much point running after her. She won't be back unless she's certain she can get Maggie alone."

"And you know all of this for certain?" Milla questioned him, quirking an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Hey. It's what I would do."

I could tell Jude wanted to push the topic further, but he let out a frustrated sigh instead and turned back to me.

"Are you okay? What did she want?"

"I-I don't know," I lied, keeping my eyes downward. "She mostly was saying a lot of crazy stuff. I-I don't think she's all there, to be honest."

"Ivar's house is nearby," said Milla. "If you would like to wait there while we–"

"N-No I'm fine!" I assured her hastily, jumping to my feet. "Really. I don't want to be alone. I'll come with you guys – you'll probably need a fourth person's help carrying these things anyway."

Milla eyed me carefully. I was pretty sure she was starting to suspect something was up, but she didn't push it.

"Very well. The temporal stone of water rests on the altar just ahead. If you're okay to carry it, we should get moving. I would like to have the Four at my side as soon as possible."

"Right." I climbed out of the river, ignoring Alvin when he tried to offer a hand to help me up. I winced after I did it. That was probably going to cost me some dramatic, confrontational conversation that I didn't feel like dealing with. At the moment, however, I was too overwhelmingly pissed off to care about that. I quickly hurried back to the altar and hopped down onto the stepping-stones.

The temporal stone was as heavy as I'd expected. I managed to lug it back to the bridge, where I had, thankfully, set my bag down. I slung the bag over my shoulder and then awkwardly cradled the stone in my arms. The others had set theirs down on the bridge as well, each one a different colour – red, green and yellow.

"So, um, how far is the shrine, exactly?" I asked, already feeling the strain of holding the stone in my arms.

Milla gestured towards the mountain in the distance. "My shrine rests at the foot of the Nia Khera Hallowmont."

"The Hallowmont, huh?"

She nodded. "It's a special place where four spirit climes meet."

With my limited knowledge of spirit climes and how they worked, I wasn't really sure what that meant, or even what that might look like. Either way, it sounded appropriate for someone like the Lord of Spirits to live in a place like that. Definitely more appropriate than this sleepy little village.

"It looks pretty far," was all I said.

"Well, let's get moving, shall we?" Alvin cheerfully suggested. I bit into my lip in an effort to fight back the sharp spike of annoyance just hearing him talk was giving me. I hated it. I didn't want to be mad at Alvin – he was doing so much for me. Still, he had to know how scared I was, even more so than Jude. I couldn't help it. Why was he being so nonchalant?

I silently followed the others as they headed through the northernmost arch in the village. I was surprised to find that the pattern traced on all of the paths in Nia Khera was still visible the further we got from the village. The path snaked through a thin forest of autumn-coloured trees, a brilliantly blue sky stretching over us.

Now that the feeling of being angry towards Alvin had settled in and become familiar, I allowed myself to think about the bigger picture. My mind was racing, combing back over every second of that encounter with Blair.

Had I missed something? Was there some kind of way that it could have been a different Blair? I desperately searched for something - anything that could tell me I was wrong. That I'd misinterpreted the situation somehow. A moment, a phrase.

But I knew there was no way I was wrong. Blair had said it herself. Something about "doing her time". I'd assumed from the way Keegan spoke about her that she'd just died like the other girl, but I realized now that wasn't entirely what he meant. There was something weird in his expression when he'd said she was "gone". Something angry and pained.

Was this what he had meant? This dreamy, evil person couldn't have been the same person he'd grown to know and care for in that lab. Granted, I was reading a lot between the lines here, but that was only because Keegan hadn't given me much to work with. What had happened for the two of them to end up on such different paths?

That same fierce anger I'd felt before tackling Blair bubbled up in my chest again. How could she be working for that monster? I remembered the helpless, terrified feeling of being strapped to that table and realized she would have gone through it for much longer than me. I would never in a million years willingly put someone through that same kind of torture. I'd rather die, I think.

Had Keegan known all along that Blair was the one who'd taken me here? Maybe he hadn't told me because it was too painful for him. I had so many questions - more than ever, I wished we'd just stayed together so I could have them answered.

Jude eventually noticed that I was lagging behind a bit, no doubt looking sad and contemplative. The only contribution I was really making to the conversation was a barely-disguised look of annoyance that surfaced whenever Alvin cracked some kind of joke.

"Is...everything okay?" Jude asked hesitantly, hanging back so that Alvin and Milla wouldn't hear.

"Mhm," I replied quietly, staring at the ground. Jude didn't say anything, but his silence was filled with this judgey vibe that prompted me to continue speaking nonetheless. "Well, I mean...to an extent. I don't know." Without thinking, I glanced ahead at Alvin, and Jude noticed.

"Right..." He followed my gaze for a moment before giving me a sympathetic smile. "You know, I don't think he meant any harm by letting her go..."

I gave him a scowl. I had stopped thinking about Alvin altogether at this point, but my anger towards him resurfaced with Jude's words.

"Well yeah, but still. I mean, I get that Alvin is Mr. Carefree and likes to act super chill, but that doesn't give him the right to do stuff like this. You don't just let criminals run off, do you? You do something about it. Why is this any different?"

"I guess..." He trailed off, looking troubled. "Listen...are you sure you don't know who that girl was? You seemed pretty shaken up back there...a-and you seemed to know what she wanted, at the very least."

I started chewing on my lip and refused to say anything. What was wrong with me? Why had I entrusted such a ridiculous story to Alvin of all people, but I couldn't do the same to trustworthy, caring Jude? Maybe it was because Jude already had enough bullshit to deal with on his own. Maybe it was because Alvin had kind of coerced it out of me as "payment" or whatever. I didn't know. I wanted to tell Jude everything, but something was holding me back.

"I don't," I finally told him. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay," he said, looking unconvinced but smiling all the same. He shifted the weight of the temporal stone in his arms and motioned towards Alvin. "Still...I think you should talk to him. He's taking you to Sharilton, right? It'd be awkward for the both of you if you're not talking to him the whole time."

I sighed heavily. "Maybe."

We continued the walk to Milla's shrine. Several times it happened that we were ambushed by monsters – spirity looking butterflies that mostly used magic, which stung like a bitch. There were more goblins as well, only these ones were even weirder-looking and looked like giant mushrooms.

I hate mushrooms. It wasn't difficult to find the motivation to attack them.

Anyway, whenever this happened, we'd all be forced to set down our respective stones and fight. Battling that giant rock monster back at the seafalls had loosened me up a bit when it came to fighting. After going up against something so frightening, the smaller guys just weren't as scary anymore, and now that Jude and I were "linked", I felt so much more confident.

Don't get me wrong. On the inside, I was still petrified. Every time my sword sliced through real flesh, I felt this sharp spike of anxiety, and once the actual battles ended, it took ages for me to calm myself down. Still, physically, I was getting better. I wasn't nearly as helpful as Milla, or Alvin, or even Jude – but I was getting better. I was contributing something other than just standing there like an idiot, and that was enough for me, for the moment.

Eventually, the woods began to thicken, and the path we walked on began to slope upwards. We soon reached a long, straight staircase that stretched up to the top of a hill. An arch, similar to the ones present in Nia Khera, could be seen at the top. We'd made it.

"The shrine rests at the top of these stairs," Milla informed us. "Shall we?"

By this point, I was pretty out of breath. Our trek hadn't been hightailing-it-from-the-seahaven-to-Hamil-super-quickly kind of tiring, but the upwards slope, plus fighting, plus carrying these freaking concrete basketballs was beginning to take a toll on me. I eyed the stairs wearily.

Alvin slapped me on the back. "Let's get moving, city girl!"

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, my mood immediately plummeting further. I followed the others up the stairs, feeling like both my lungs and my arms were going to disintegrate by the time we reached the top.

I forgot about my worries, though, when I took in the sight of the shrine. It was beautiful. In shape, it was quite similar to the round huts in Nia Khera, but it was much larger, and much nicer-looking. It sat nestled in a clearing, the looming Hallowmont standing tall behind it and looking much closer than it had before. A gloomy haze hung over the clearing, shrouding the whole sight in an air of mystery – perfect for Milla.

"In here," said Milla.

"Is this your house?" Jude asked, looking impressed.

Milla glanced at the building. "My house? I've never really thought about it that way, but I suppose so."

Alvin let out a low whistle. "Boy, you're really in the sticks. What do you do for fun out here?"

"My mission is not to entertain myself," she said sternly. Her face soon softened slightly, though. "I do spend time reading books written by humans, if you must know."

"Sounds...fun?" Alvin tried.

"Let's perform the ceremony," Milla said, abruptly turning on her heel and heading into the shrine.

The inside of the shrine was relatively bare, furniture-wise. Various coloured streamers hung from the ceiling, and in the centre of the circular room was an altar. A decorative curtain hung against the back wall. Torches were lit. Someone must have been taking care of this place in Milla's absence. That handmaid of hers, maybe?

Milla was already hard at work. She'd found sticks of chalk, and was currently in the middle of drawing a complex design on the circular floor – I assumed it was some sort of spell circle. There were intricate, smaller circles in each direction, each a different colour – red, green, yellow and blue. She had already set her stone in its respective circle. Jude hesitantly followed suit.

"Like this?" he asked, setting the green stone on the green circle.

"Perfect," Milla replied, motioning for Alvin and me to do the same. She thanked us once all four stones were in the right position, and then sat herself down cross-legged in the middle of all of them.

"I feel like we should stand back," I whispered, backing myself up against the wall. Jude and Alvin joined me, and we watched in quiet awe as the scene unfolded before us.

Milla closed her eyes. Her hands started glowing, and she began to use them to replicate the design on the floor...except the design was appearing in the air before her, like mag...oh. I guess it really was magic. I closed my mouth, which had dropped open at the sight, and kept watching.

As her hands met each direction on the circle, a flash of colour erupted from each. My jaw dropped again as she raised her arms, and a large circle of light stretched over the room, shooting down coloured beams over the temporal stones. I couldn't remember my first experience with fireworks, but I imagined that this feeling was probably something similar – only a million times cooler.

Cool, that is, until I heard a faint cracking noise. I glanced at the blue stone in front of us, caught the line that was beginning to break across the surface, and then was forced to squeeze my eyes shut as all four stones simultaneously exploded.

Milla let out a shocked gasp and slumped over, reaching a hand out to catch herself. Her breathing was heavy.

"Milla!" Jude exclaimed, reaching out to her. There was a moment where the three of us could do nothing but stare at her, waiting for her to say something as the smoke around her cleared.

"Lady Milla!" I felt myself stumble as something – or rather, someone – came bolting through the door, plowing into the three of us in an effort to get by.

The newcomer came to a stop in front of Milla, gracefully falling into a kneel before her. He had silver hair, tied up in a ponytail that fell over his shoulder as he bowed his head. The skin from his shoulder to his elbow was exposed, and I could see that it was quite tan.

"Oh," said Milla, rubbing her head. "Is that you, Ivar?"

"Lady Milla! I was worried sick!" he lamented. He finally lifted his head in favour of looking around at the state of the room – at the shattered pieces of coloured rock on the floor. "This looks like the rite of the Four's Advent...why would you perform such a ritual?" He then quickly rose to his feet, glancing around in alarm. "Wait...what's going on here? Efreet, where are you? Undine, come out!" He had a serious face, with sharp green eyes. He turned them to Milla, looking even more worried than before. "Lady Milla, what has happened?"

Milla gave him a long, serious look before speaking.

"I should think it would be obvious by now. I can no longer summon the Four Great Spirits."

His eyes widened. "What?! How is this possible?"

"It happened in Fennmont," Jude chimed in, coming over to settle on the floor beside them. The dude who I was pretty sure was Ivar gave him a suspicious look, as though only just realizing the rest of us were here. "There was this giant weapon, a-and–"

"Who are these people, Lady Milla?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. I didn't appreciate his tone.

"They have helped me in my journey," Milla told him simply. "And what Jude said was true. I travelled to Fennmont to destroy the Lance of Kresnik but there were...unforeseen consequences. The Lance activated, and the Four were taken from me. I have not been able to contact them since. I had hoped performing the rite of the Four's Advent might work, but..." She trailed off. Her face had grown hard. None of us really knew what to say, I think.

"I cannot believe it," said Ivar, shaking his head.

Alvin strolled over to join the rest of them, crouching down and resting his elbow on his knee, resting his face on that fist. I awkwardly joined him, kneeling between him and Jude.

"So, why do you think you can't summon the spirits?" he asked. "Are they dead or something?"

"Idiot!" Ivar snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Alvin. Okay, I take back what I said about him having a serious face. He was clearly the type to get easily riled up, as evidenced by his dramatically angry expression. "A Great Spirit cannot die!"

"Was I...supposed to know that?" Alvin muttered to Jude and me.

Ivar relaxed his arm and broke into his explanation. "Just like a lesser spirit, a Great Spirit becomes a fossil when it passes away. Yet its power transfers into the next Great Spirit!" As he spoke, he was dramatically reaching towards the heavens, as though he was some great prophet giving us some kind of earth-shattering revelation. I didn't really know how to react.

"At least that's what they say," said Jude, giving the perfect deadpan to match with Ivar's flair. "Nobody's ever seen it happen."

"Ah, so I've heard," said Alvin. He mostly just looked bored.

"That's blasphemy!" Ivar exclaimed. "Spirits are undying beings that dwell in the spirit world! It's beyond your understanding!" His face grew deadly serious, and he shook his fist. I was quickly finding it harder and harder to take this guy seriously.

"Hm..." Jude brought a finger to the side of his head. I recognized the mannerism – he was tapping into that built-in textbook he had for a brain. "Well, maybe that device captured the Four Great Spirits instead of killing them."

Milla stared at him thoughtfully.

"Impossible!" said Ivar, jabbing a finger in Jude's direction. "Mere humans could never capture the Great Four!"

"But, the Four Great Spirits aren't answering their lord's summons," Jude insisted. "If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

"If you leave an egg in a box, and somehow that egg should get crushed, the cause must lie within the egg itself." When Jude glanced at him in surprise, Alvin chuckled and said, "Good old Howe's Egg Principle. You really are an honours student."

I nodded thoughtfully and acted like I'd heard of that saying, even though I was quickly becoming lost. "So that means that even if it shouldn't be possible, it's the most likely scenario that the Great Spirits were captured by that machine, right?"

Ivar looked like he was about to bust a vein. He was clenching his fists so hard they were shaking, and I could swear his lip was twitching.

Milla was staring at the floor, deep in thought. "A spyrix advanced enough to capture even the Four. When that happened...I then lost my power as Maxwell."

"Milla..."

Jude's voice broke her out of her thoughts. Her eyes widened, as though she had come to some sudden realization. She rose to her feet and turned her back on all of us, walking towards her altar. As soon as she'd come back to us, it appeared she'd become lost in her thoughts once again.

Ivar scrambled to his feet and placed himself between us and Milla. He spread his arms out defiantly.

"Now, you will all leave. This is holy ground and you'll desecrate it no more!"

"Seriously?" I said, staring at him in disbelief.

"I'm never anything but serious," he informed me gravely. "I'm the only one ordained to serve Lady Milla!" And then, as if to completely contradict that first bit of what he said, he struck a dramatic pose, tilting his head back and pointing at himself with his thumb, giving us a toothy grin. I swear to God I saw a sparkle come from one of his teeth. It was that typical of a cheesy, anime pose. Was he for real? Did Rieze Maxia even have anime? I didn't even think they had TV.

"Ivar, please leave as well," said Milla. "You can go home."

"Huh?!" He broke out of his pose to whirl around and gape at Milla.

"Let me see, how should I put this...?" She let her words linger in a long pause before sending him something just short of a glare. "You're annoying."

I bit back a laugh as he suddenly sank in on himself like a deflated balloon, his face going from pure shock to teary-eyed disbelief. He sullenly followed the rest of us out of the shrine.

I felt awkward just leaving without saying goodbye to Milla, but at the same time it didn't feel like she was in the mood to talk. The four us silently stood in the clearing, unsure of what to do. Were we supposed to wait until she reached some kind of decision?

Ivar was livid. He stood with his arms crossed, tapping his foot angrily until he finally found the words to speak.

"Lady Milla wouldn't be in this predicament if it wasn't for you blasphemous fools!" He exploded, his arms flying as he pointed at Jude's back from every direction. Jude kept his back turned, lost in his own thoughts as well.

"Is that so?" I muttered, absently fiddling with my lilium orb. I was half-tuning him out too, my troubled mind drifting back to my own problems.

"It is!" he exclaimed, not even bothering to look back at me. For the love of Maxwell! I knew I never should have left her side!"

"Milla wasn't kidding about his short fuse," Alvin said to me, motioning towards the way Ivar was pretty much sinking to his knees in despair.

Jude suddenly started walking away, prompting Ivar to chase after him and grab him by the shoulder.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

"Uh, yeah," said Jude. He had this dopey look on his face, like he'd just woken up from a nap or something. "I mean...huh?"

"Hmph! Heed my words!" Ivar stared him down defiantly. "Henceforth, only I shall serve the Lady Milla! Interfere at your peril!"

"For the love of..." Alvin shook his head at the whole fiasco while Jude just kind of stared at Ivar in stun. Then Alvin suddenly glanced over his shoulder, looking alert.

"W-What is it?" I asked, feeling panic swell up in my gut at the sight of him looking nervous.

"It's nothing," he said, but the look didn't leave his face, and I found it hard to believe him. Ivar had stomped off down the stairs, leaving Jude looking understandably pissed.

Alvin broke away and headed over to Jude. "You gonna stick around?"

"Y-Yeah," said Jude, his eyes trailing over to the shrine.

Alvin clapped him on the shoulder. "Cool. I'll be back at the village."

As Alvin started to walk away, I glanced between him and Jude. The feeling in my gut refused to leave me. For some reason, I had a bad feeling. I didn't even know what it was, but something about it prompted me to make a decision.

"W-Wait!" I called out, running after him.

"Hm?"

"I'm coming with you," I said quickly. "These woods kind of sketch me out." That was a total lie. I felt completely at ease here, for some reason. Maybe it was the...abundance of spirits. As if I could feel something like that. Regardless, I wanted to go with him. At the very least, it would allow me the chance to sort things out with him.

"Uh...sure." He looked surprised, but quickly wiped the look from his face in favour of that trademark smirk of his. "Can't stand to be without my company for very long, can you?"

"Whatever," I sighed. I offered Jude a smile. "You going to be okay by yourself?"

"I'll be fine," he assured me. "I'm sure I'll see you before the two of you set off for Sharilton."

"Right." With that, Alvin and I set off down the stairs, leaving Jude alone in the clearing.

Alvin and I didn't speak for the first little while of walking. Regardless of if he could sense I was still angry at him or not, something seemed to be troubling him as well...okay maybe not troubling him, exactly, but he still seemed put off. No snide remarks or teasing jabs. I decided to break the silence.

"Look...about earlier."

He currently had his arms outstretched, hands folded behind his head. He gave me a curious glance.

"With...that woman," I clarified. I suddenly felt very flustered and stared at my hands. I picked at a hangnail as I continued. "When you just brushed it off like that...it made me angry. You understand where she came from, right?"

"Ah, that." He let out a breath and closed his eyes. "Look, I get why you'd be pissed at me. Really, I do. You don't wanna end up some freak's experiment again. But you have to trust me – I wouldn't have let her go if I thought she posed a real threat."

"She had a knife pressed to my throat," I said, fighting to keep the irritation out of my voice. "I'd say that's a pretty big threat."

"She's clearly insane," he retorted, rolling his eyes. "Are you kidding me? She was a twig. The only strengths she has going for her are her looks, and her insanity. She got the jump on you, that's all. Do you really think she would have been able to drag you all the way back to Fort Gandala by herself? You're a tough kid – you somehow escaped that place the first time, with its military defenses and whatnot. I can't see some crazy chick like her getting the best of you."

But she almost did...

"She did the first time," I told him quietly as I thought back on that day. "She lured me in. Tricked me. She wasn't alone, then. She had someone working with her. I never saw his face, though."

"Huh...strange she didn't have him with her this time around," he mused.

"Yeah...maybe she's getting desperate or something. She...said something, to me." I felt my stomach twist at the memory. I still hadn't fully made sense of it in my head. How was I supposed to verbalize it to Alvin? I thought of what Elias had said about the other subjects. They'd either escaped or croaked. That summed up Keegan and Stacy pretty neatly, but where did that leave Blair?

"Maggie?"

Alvin's voice brought me back to reality. I blinked quickly and looked at him.

"S-Sorry."

He tilted his head curiously. "What did she tell you?"

"Oh, um...she's crazy, like you said. It's probably nothing, but...she made it seem like she'd been through the same thing. Like she'd been...experimented on, or whatever."

"That so?" Alvin mulled this over, looking up at the sky like it was going to hold some kind of answer. "In that case, maybe she's been brainwashed."

"Brainwashed?"

"Yeah, you know..." He waved a hand as he searched for words. "Maybe the experiments messed her up somehow, and now she thinks she's on their side."

I didn't say anything, but just let his words sink in. Could that have been true? Could all that time being experimented on have really messed up Blair's brain that badly? I suddenly remembered her ability to catch me off guard with magically conjured animals. How could that have been possible? A spyrix? Or had one of the serums actually worked at the cost of her sanity? None of it made sense. None of it seemed possible.

But then I thought about that "Egg Principle" that Alvin and Jude had been talking about in Milla's shrine. "If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." When I thought about it like that, it seemed like there was no other possibility.

"Ah, it hurts my head to think about it," I finally said with a frustrated groan. I was just going to have to ask Keegan about it all when I finally saw him again. He would know the answer.

"Yeah. It doesn't matter anyway!" He gave me a confident grin. "I'm going to get you to Sharilton safe and sound. You'll be fine – I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"

"Thanks, Alvin," I said, smiling. I sure hope that turns out to be the case.


We eventually reached the village again. Talking with Alvin had cleared up some of my worries. I still wasn't 100 percent okay with him letting Blair go, but I was a bit more confident in his intentions, anyway.

"Why did you want to come to the village, anyway?" I asked him after we'd walked through the big arch. "Is everything okay?"

"Naturally!" he replied casually. "I just feel like old Maxwell up there is going to be a while, and Jude doesn't seem like very good company to be with at the moment. Figured I'd come down here and revel in the fresh air."

"You're full of shit," I sighed. "But I'm not going to push it."

He gave me a shameless grin. "I like the way you operate, kid."

"Stop," I said, giving him a light push, "calling me kid."

He slung an arm around my shoulder. "C'mon now, lighten up! Why don't we go for a walk around the village? Take in the...uh, sights."

This was enough to make me laugh. I shrugged out of his grip and the two of us began walking down the village path. We didn't get very far, however, before an elderly man approached us.

"You there!" he called, hurrying (well, as much as someone of his age was able to hurry, anyway) over to us. "Would I be correct in assuming the two of you are responsible for Lord Maxwell's safe return?"

"Uh, well sort of, I guess..." I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"She hired me for my services," Alvin quickly cut in. "I'm a mercenary. Maggie here is another one of my clients. Can I help you with something?"

The man's eyes widened. "Hired! Well, I hope that you haven't received your payment yet."

"I haven't," said Alvin, looking all-too happy at the prospect of getting paid. "Why do you ask?"

"It would not be right for Lord Maxwell to pay for your services out of her own funds," the man told him. "I would be honoured to donate to the cause myself in her stead. W-Wait right here! I will be back soon." He started to leave, but stopped and abruptly turned around again, bowing and saying, "Thank you for looking after Lord Maxwell. You saved our spirit!"

"No, thank you!" Alvin waved as the man hobbled away, and I couldn't help but give him a glare.

"Swindling money out of old men, Alvin?"

"Hey now, he offered! Besides, if Milla ends up having a problem with it, she can tell him so." He settled down into the grass, leaning against the arch we had entered through. He gave me another shameless smile and patted the grass beside him. "C'mon. Let's take a break. Those poor little city legs of yours are probably on fire, huh?"

I eyed the grass longingly. "M-Maybe..."

He said nothing, but patted the grass again.

I sighed and collapsed into the grass beside him, immediately sprawling out on my back. My legs screamed their thanks for finally giving them a break.

"I'm gonna fall asleep," I mumbled, closing my eyes to shield them from the sun.

"As is your right," said Alvin, sounding amused.

The two of us remained like that for...well, I lost track of time, to be honest. It felt like I hadn't had a proper chance to sit down since leaving the seahaven. My sleep in Hamil had been rudely interrupted by a certain smug mercenary, and sleeping on the hard ground outside...well, it was hard for me to qualify that as rest. However, the grass here in Nia Khera felt especially soft, like a plush carpet. I didn't want to leave it.

"So what's waiting for you in Sharilton?" Alvin asked conversationally.

"Uh, my house?" I replied, not quite understanding the question.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically, and I felt him lightly flick me in the forehead. "I meant...why go back? I get that it's your home and stuff but if I were you, I'd be staying as far away from Rashugal as I could. Especially Sharilton. It's so close to Fort Gandala."

"I-I know that," I said quietly, slowly opening my eyes. I mentally picked shapes out of the fluffy clouds in the sky. The blue was starting to give way to a faint pink. The sun was beginning to set. "But, that's where my brother thinks I should go. It's my home. I'm not sure how he's going to ensure that I stay safe there, but..." I trailed off, shrugging. "I trust him. He wouldn't lead me astray."

"You're not scared?"

"Of course I am!" I said, perhaps a little too loudly. I reluctantly sat up and gave him a scowl. "I'm terrified! But I can't just start some new life in Auj Oule and ignore all of my problems. My brother...he's working to fix things, somehow. I know he is. I'll be safe."

He gave me this long, searching look before shrugging and leaning back against the post again. "Whatever you say! I guess you're paying me to get you there safely, not judge your choices."

"That's the idea," I said mockingly.

More time passed, and finally, the sound of footsteps approaching roused me out of the very light sleep I had drifted into. I opened my eyes, expecting to see the old man from what now felt like forever ago. However, I was surprised to find that it was Milla and Jude who were approaching us instead.

"Took ya long enough," said Alvin, standing up to greet them. "I didn't expect to see Milla with you."

I reluctantly pulled myself to my feet and joined Alvin.

"Did you reach a decision?" I asked, looking hesitantly between the two of them.

"Yeah," said Jude, looking resolute. "I'm going with Milla."

"Jude..." I stared at him in shock. That was the last thing I had expected to come out of his mouth. Alvin shared my sentiments.

"Whoa, you're quite the flip-flopper! I thought you regretted getting involved."

"True, but I've made my decision to help her, and I'm sticking to it," said Jude. He gave Milla a determined smile – one that she returned, to my surprise.

"Is that right?" Alvin turned away, looking baffled.

"That's...really brave of you, Jude," I said. It was hard for me to find words. If I were him, I would have jumped at the opportunity to return to some semblance of a normal life. How could he so easily head back into danger like that again? It was something I was shocked to see in him. In someone so young.

He blushed. "I-I'm just trying to do what I can."

Milla, meanwhile, had stepped around so that she was back in Alvin's line of sight.

"Alvin, thanks for all of your help," she said graciously. Her eyebrows flew up as she realized something. "Oh! I almost forgot. We still need to pay you."

"Ah, yes. My fee." I could have smacked him. For half a second I really thought he was going to try and swindle more money out of Milla and Jude, but he quickly put my fears to rest. "We ran into some hayseed. He said he'd pay it."

"One of the villagers?" Jude asked, looking confused.

"Yep. He was nothing but gratitude, that one. Said it wouldn't be right for Lord Maxwell to pay out of her own pocket. He was practically bowing at our feet."

"I wish he was kidding," I piped up, sighing.

"Hmm, that sounds like the elder," Milla agreed, nodding. She looked vaguely annoyed. "He shouldn't have offered. Alvin, I'll pay you myself."

"You need to learn how to read your people, Milla," Alvin told her, with a tone that warned me he was about to turn up the drama. "That old man was tickled pink to pay your debt. You'd crush him if you refused."

"You think so?" Milla looked concerned.

"I know so."

"Anyway," I cut in, resisting the urge to pull an Ivar and shake my fist at Alvin, "he told us to wait here for him, but that was a while ago. We've just kind of been hanging around here since then – he said he'd be right back."

"He's still in the village, right?" said Jude.

Milla nodded. "Most likely. We should find him. I believe I know where his home is."

The three of us followed Milla as she led us through the village, eventually coming to a stop in front of one of the circular huts. She didn't bother knocking – I guess being the Lord of Spirits, you were kind of exempt from having to perform such courtesies – and opened the door so we could all pile in after her.

The elder was hunched over a shelf digging through some things, but he quickly rose when he heard us approach.

"L-Lord Maxwell! And your companions. Forgive me for making you wait." He did another one of those needlessly deep bows.

"Worry not," said Milla. "I heard you've prepared payment for Alvin.

"Yes, yes," the elder replied, rising from his bow. "The villagers all pitched in and collected a small fund ages ago. It's the least we can do to help you, Lord Maxwell. We're farmers, not fighters, after all."

She bowed her head slightly. "I see."

"Told you," Alvin said with a shrug.

Milla turned back towards the elder and smiled. "I appreciate everything you've done for me."

The elder bowed his head before approaching Alvin and handing him a coin purse. He weighed it in his palm before nodding at the elder and stowing it away in his jacket.

The elder returned to his duties, and Milla and Alvin turned back to Jude and me.

"So my debt is paid," Milla said to Alvin. "Thank you for everything."

"Yeah, thanks," Jude chimed in gratefully.

"It was fun!" he said cheerfully. "I guess I'll see you around, then."

I scowled and pulled him back as he tried to leave. "Just hold on a second!"

"Hm?"

"Jude, Milla...what are your plans now?" I asked nervously. The previously light air that had fallen over the group grew heavy again. "Are you going back to Fennmont?"

"I must destroy the Lance of Kresnik, and rescue the Four," Milla replied. "In order to do that, I must return to Fennmont. I wish to leave as soon as Jude is ready."

"W-Well, I mean..." I gulped. I'd grown used to Milla's rather intimidating presence, but the thought of asking anything of her still made me sort of nervous. "Why don't we keep travelling together? Until we get to the seahaven, that is. We're all going the same way, so wouldn't it make sense to stick together?"

Jude, who'd been looking particularly glum at the prospects of a goodbye, perked up at this.

"Hey, I don't see why not. What do you think, Milla?"

She thought it over for a moment. "Hmm...well, I see no problem in such a plan."

"Man, good thinking, kid!" Alvin exclaimed, slapping me on the back and letting out a hearty laugh.

"Stop doing that," I said in annoyance, jumping away from him. "Anyway, if that's the plan, then what should we do?"

"I'm sure the villagers would be happy to offer us their homes for the night," said Milla. "At the very least, I can convince Ivar. We should rest, and leave first thing tomorrow."

"I'm surprised a try-hard like you actually wants to take time to rest," said Alvin, raising his eyebrows.

"Without the Four, I am just as burdened by human inconveniences as you all," Milla informed him, looking somehow annoyed and amused at the same time. "It's fascinating, really. I feel quite tired."

"The novelty will wear off, I assure you," I said, stifling a yawn myself.

"Lady Milla!"

At that moment, Ivar suddenly burst through the door, hurrying over to Milla. I noticed Milla stiffen, as though she wasn't very excited to see him. I couldn't blame her – his personality was a little...grating.

He bowed his head before asking, "Will you be departing again?"

"Yes, tomorrow morning," Milla replied. "Look after the village."

"But I would rather accompany you!" he said boldly, placing his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest. He shot a glare towards Jude. "I wouldn't dare leave your holy care in the hands of this blasphemous, uncouth, shifty, backstabbing stranger!"

"Jeez, he does not like Jude..." I whispered to Alvin, feeling extremely uncomfortable. I had that icky feeling that you get when you witness someone arguing with a cashier or something.

"Ivar!" Milla all-but snapped, and he visibly straightened and promptly focused his attention on her again. "Tell me again of your duty."

He looked taken aback. "M-My duty? Why, it is to serve you, Lady Milla."

"And what of your other duty?"

"Uh, to protect the people of Nia Khera..." He lowered his head. "Those who can't protect themselves."

"Exactly," said Milla. "And now you see why Jude shall accompany me on this journey."

Jude looked surprised to have been brought into the argument. Everyone in the room, including the elder, had been watching the exchange with bated breath.

"While you fulfill your second duty," Milla finished.

"But Lady Milla!" Ivar protested, pointing at Jude. "You wouldn't have lost the Great Spirits if not for him!"

"No," Milla said firmly. "The fault was mine and mine alone. Indeed, if Jude hadn't been there..." And with this, she sent a thankful look in Jude's direction. "I might never have returned safely to Nia Khera."

"Thanks," said Jude, surprised even further into returning the smile. "I'm only trying to help."

"But Lady Milla–!"

"The matter is not open to debate." I was amazed at how patient Milla was able to act with him. I would have run out of patience the moment he walked through the door. "Will you abandon your duty to this village?"

Ivar faltered under her challenging stare. "N-No."

"Then it's settled. Jude and I, along with Alvin and Maggie, will be leaving tomorrow morning. May we stay in your home for the night?"

"O-Of course, Lady Milla!" Ivar immediately swooped into a bow, happy to be of some real help. "I will begin making dinner at once!" He rushed past us and out the door, and my stomach immediately growled at the mention of food.

"I'll be back before supper!" Alvin suddenly announced, and then he was on his way out the door.

"Where are you off to?" Jude asked, frowning.

"A man's gotta have some secrets!" he called over his shoulder, and then he was gone.

I sighed and shook my head. Whatever. I wasn't really concerned with whatever weird things Alvin was off getting up to. At the moment, the only pressing matters on my mind were a nice warm meal and a long, night's sleep.


Thanks for reading! Have a lovely day! :)

Next time: ELIIIIIIIIZEEEEEEE