Thank you all for your kind words regarding the last chapter. However, a writer is his own worst critic, so in my eyes, the last chapter was an utter failure. Just go with it, because I'm the type of person who makes up for a failed chapter by releasing a considerably better chapter. So in a way, my belief that the last chapter was a failure actually benefits you guys. Enjoy it.

It was the morning after the Queen pardoned Allen and Blake. The two former criminals had taken the Black Order's party back to their headquarters. They were planning to go back to their house right after they dropped off the Black Order's party, but Komui wouldn't hear of it.

"You've got to have a bit of an orientation before you fully join. Come on, both of you," Komui had said.

That was how Allen and Blake got one of the best dinners that they had had in a long time. Both of them were perfectly capable of cooking for themselves; indeed, they often had three thirty-course meals per day, but one could only learn so many recipes—and modify them—so many times. Allen and Blake had their limits, and Jeryy's cooking was far beyond them.

When the Black Order's faculty was told that the criminals Crown Clown and Fantasy's Requiem were in their headquarters, many of them were shocked to speechlessness. It was difficult for any of the Finders and scientists in the Black Order to imagine that the two criminals had reformed. Indeed, throughout their entire dinner, Allen and Blake had tons of narrow, suspicious eyes watching them.

Of course, the first person to wholeheartedly accept Allen and Blake was Jeryy. In fact, when he heard that two more Parasitic-Type Exorcists were joining the Black Order, he nearly fainted with happiness. For the next few hours, he was bustling left and right in the kitchen to get as much food prepared as possible, and he did his job very well. By dinnertime, Jeryy had produced enough food to feed the entire Black Order, including Allen, Blake, and Lucia, twice over. He was even more taken with Allen and Blake when they unhesitatingly and honestly praised his food, even going so far as to say they had died and gone to heaven. The breakfast that they'd just had was just as good as dinner, and Allen and Blake had promised Jeryy that they'd be back in time to at least help him make dinner later that day.

Now, Allen and Blake were saddling up their horses to go to the palace. The Black Order did have a stable, but the horses there were more suited for more casual traveling such as carriage pulling or slow trots. Moreover, most of the Black Order didn't care to use horses because trains were so much faster. The Black Order's horses were still well cared for, but they were soft and not very fast.

In other words, Whiteface and Auron were the wildest things in the stables. Unfortunately, it was the time of year for mares to go into heat, and both Whiteface and Auron had never been exposed to that kind of company before. Needless to say, it was very difficult for Allen and Blake to saddle their horses, much less even get them out of the stable, because both Whiteface and Auron were very eager to mount every female horse in the stables.

Finally, Allen and Blake had gotten their spirited horses under control, and led them to the Black Order's gates.

"It's an overcast day, Allen," Blake commented, looking up at the sky. "There's been quite a few of those lately."

Allen smirked. "Usually people feel more solemn on days like this, but that's different from your behavior. You actually feel happier on overcast days," he said.

Blake smirked as well. "That's not to say that I'm more spirited, though. I'm still a bit more subdued on days like this. On sunny days, though, I'm more likely to complain."

"True enough." Allen looked ahead to the Black Order's gate. "No sendoff, huh? That's to be expected, I guess."

"Let's head out. It doesn't matter whether or not we're being formally sent off. It's more likely that they'll be watching us from inside, anyway," Blake pointed out.

"Again, true enough."

"Shall we give them a show?" Blake asked as the gate opened.

"No," Allen rejected, before racing off on Whiteface. Blake shrugged before racing after him.

Both of them knew where to go; they had been born and raised in the palace. Unlike Desier and Dulcinia, though, they rarely went out in carriages. Instead, the Walkers and the Phantasias let their sons ride out on their own horses. Of courses, their horses back then were not as big as Whiteface and Auron, but because of this freedom, Allen and Blake knew the streets far better than any other noble in the castle close.

They were clad in Exorcist's coats, so no citizen dared to stop them. However, as gentlemen, they often stopped for the sake of others crossing the streets. As a result, they had to slow down to a trot, and even more so when the streets started to become more congested.

Blake disliked crowds in general, and although riding on Auron kept him above the crowd, he still stared uncomfortably and annoyed at the masses that were swarming around. Luckily, the two Exorcists were very close to the palace by now. It was only a matter of blocks away.

Unfortunately, the closer they got to the palace, the thicker the crowds became. Many people sought favor from the Queen or any noble in general. Since it was still rather early in the morning, the castle grounds were not exactly swarming with social climbers just yet, but the crowds around the castle were still thicker than what Blake preferred.

Before Allen and Blake could think about how they would avoid the crowds, however, the guards caught sight of them. One of them stepped forward. "Excuse me, you with the white hair. You are Allen Walker?"

"I am," Allen answered.

The guard turned to Blake. "And…wow, those eyes are rather striking. You are Blake Phantasia?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Blake replied.

"Merely a formality, sirs. I could never forget your faces. How nice that you are here this early; Her Majesty expected you rather later than this," the guard said.

"Is Her Majesty receiving guests right now?" Allen asked.

"At this moment, my partner is making an inquiry into that; Her Majesty is having breakfast. In the meantime, allow me to take your horses," the guard offered.

Allen and Blake dismounted and handed the reins to the guard. "Please treat them with care," Blake said.

"I will treat them as if they were Her Highness's horses," the guard said, leading Whiteface and Auron away.

The Queen did not keep them waiting long. Only a few minutes had passed before another guard stepped forward. "Her Majesty has been informed of your arrival, and is summoning you immediately. Follow me," he said.

As the guard led Allen and Blake in, however, some of the social climbers began to protest.

"Hey! We have been waiting here for quite some time! Why is Her Majesty accepting them first?"

"They've only been here for a few minutes! Why are they going before me?!"

"This is outrageous!"

The guard turned to bellow at the malcontents. "Be quiet! Her Majesty has placed her audience with these two first and foremost! I cannot question her judgment!"

"But—!"

"For social climbers, you guys don't care about her majesty's judgment don't you?" Blake side.

"How dare you!" a social climber hissed.

"It's amazing how many people say that to me. Her majesty wanted us to go first, so it does not matter what you think about yourselves. To her, we are more important. So, allow me give you some advice: if you want her majesty to favor you, try actually listening to her," Blake mocked.

"Enough! If you will come with me!" the guard snapped, interrupting an angry retort from the social climber. Allen and Blake followed their annoyed guide into the palace.

It was very different from what Allen and Blake remembered. Where once the walls were solemn silver, now they were shining silver with stripes of gold going down from the ceiling to the floor. The floors were once wood-tiled, but now they were tiled with porcelain. There were more curtains of velvet and tulle than before, and some of the public doorways did not actually have doors, but beaded curtains of rope instead. Allen and Blake looked on in awe as they walked through the hallways of the palace that they once knew so well.

However, this new set of decorations did not deter Allen and Blake from remembering a little trick from their younger days. To the guard's surprise, they walked up to an agitated-looking servant.

"Is something the matter, sir?" Allen asked.

"Don't bother…oh, Exorcists of the Black Order! I'm sorry, sirs, but please excuse me! The milk delivery is late, and…" the servant stammered.

"Calm yourself, sir," Allen suggested, putting a hand to stop the incoherence. "Her Majesty is a very forgiving sort of person."

"But this is a simple task! If I cannot even manage this, then…"

"Managing the milk delivery may seem simple, yet you cannot think of it that way. To you, it is a very important task, and that means that you have to go at it with calm but firm tenacity. So the first thing you do when managing such a task is calm yourself, and you will manage everything all the better," Blake advised.

"Y-yes. Of course. Thank you for your attention, sirs." The servant bowed, but when he rose, he looked less nervous than before.

"Excellent! Carry on," Allen said, he and Blake walking back to the guard.

"We cannot have any more delays. Her Majesty prefers punctuality," the guard murmured.

"Apologies for that," Blake said.

There were no more delays, although Allen and Blake noticed more agitated servants along the way and made mental notes to talk to them as well. This was a trick that they had both learned early in their lives. Within the palace were hundreds of servants, each given numerous, and often trivial, tasks. However, Allen and Blake had been told that the more trivial a given task was, the more agitated the one who was charged with it would be. The milk delivery was one example of this phenomenon; because it was so easy, failure to properly manage it would not be kindly looked upon.

Therefore, if one were placed highly enough, the mere act of even talking to an agitated servant would give him even higher status within that person's mind. They would think, I can't believe he would deign to talk to me! Someone of such high status is showing concern for me!

The trick did not work all the time, but it inspired unfeigned respect when it did.

Finally, Allen and Blake arrived at the royal dining area, where most of the Queen's court and the royal party ate their meals. The doorway into the room was more elaborate than most, and two sergeants were standing guard. These two were less friendly to Allen and Blake than their escort was, and glared at them with open hostility.

"Her Majesty is expecting you," was one of them growled, before pulling the doors open.

As Allen and Blake walked inside, they were greeted by complete silence. It was as if everyone in the room had been expecting their entrance. Even the servants, who would normally rush around trying to please everyone, stopped in the middle of their tasks.

Allen and Blake strode further into the room, their coats almost skimming the ground behind them. Around them sat the members of the Queen's court, a group of fifty or so lords, ladies, and government officials who had entered the Queen's trust. Figures like the Chief of War, the Chief of Finance, the Prime Minister, and the Chief Advisor were in this group.

The Queen, Dulcinia, and Desier sat at the very end of the area, on a raised table and chairs. It was towards here that Allen and Blake moved. As they neared, several of the guards moved to stop them, but the Queen spoke.

"No. Let them come closer. I will tell them when to stop," the Queen said.

The guards reluctantly pulled back and Allen and Blake stepped closer. When they were only a few feet away, the Queen held up a hand. "No more. That will do," she said.

Allen and Blake fell to their knees and bowed their heads. "It is an honor to see you again, Your Majesty," Allen murmured.

"And that also applies to all of the members of Her Majesty's royal court," Blake added.

"Well met indeed, you two," the Queen returned. "As I promised, I will pardon you two of all your crimes."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Allen said.

Blake, however, took a quick glance around the room without lifting his head, and saw signs of discontent: tapping feet, quivering bodies, and drumming fingers against thighs. "Your Majesty, I imagine that many in this room do not believe that, including myself. If you do not mind me asking, why would you pardon us when just seven years ago, you sentenced us to execution for the disaster at St. Rowena's Square?"

Allen remembered that hated day; it was the day that everything changed for them.

The Queen's expression did not change at all, but Dulcinia spoke. "Allen…Blake…you must know that at first, none of us thought that you actually caused that incident. But we also wish to know your side of the story. If it is not too much trouble, can you tell us what happened that day?"

Allen and Blake looked at each other, and rose. There was no move to stop them as they began to tell the story of that fateful day, not even from the two more pairs of eyes that had somehow gone unnoticed by the two boys.


"Are you two going into town again?" eight-year old Dulcinia asked.

"Just for a short trip; our families are coming with us, too, along with a troop of guards," nine-year old Allen said.

"Also, staying in this place is boring!" nine-year old Blake whined.

"That, too," Allen agreed.

"Be careful," Dulcinia said.

"Yes…I'm not saying that I doubt our kingdom's purity, but you know that many ungodly things stalk the streets," ten-year old Desier said.

"Thieves, murderers, swindlers, even the occasional rabid animal…we've dealt with them all," Blake dismissed.

"Even so…" Desier started.

"Allen! Blake! It's time to go!" Allen's mother, Kiara Walker, called to her son. Next to her stood Allen's father, Mana Walker, and Blake's parents, Marcus and Faustina Phantasia.

"Coming!" Allen called back.

Blake noticed Dulcinia and Desier's worried expressions and smiled comfortingly. "Wendell, Dulcinia, don't worry about us. We've done this dozens of times, and nothing's happened to us yet. And even if it does, each guard has the latest model of rifle. What could possibly go wrong?"

Both Allen and Blake had no idea that they would soon bitterly remember those words as they headed to their parents waiting by their coach.

As befitting one of the rare times that Allen and Blake had ridden in a coach, the trip started out peacefully enough. The escort of soldiers that rode alongside the coach ensured that there were no delays along the road. However, the townspeople by now were used to the visits from the Walker and Phantasia families; in fact, the aristocrats' visits were almost a normal sight by now. They happened once every month or so, but both Allen and Blake committed the way from the castle close into the center of town quite well.

"Marcus…how is your mother faring?" Mana asked. Marcus Phantasia's mother, Aoura Phantasia, was quite ill, and regrettably could not join the family for the trip into town.

Marcus shook his head sadly. "Not well. Even with all of the medicine that is being given to her, Mother is still not well. You know that she has never been very well, what with my father's death and my cousin's disappearance. And I can feel it…all of us are beginning to enter seniority as well."

This was true. Allen and Blake's parents were nearing the end of their middle-aged years.

Mana nodded solemnly. "I know how you feel. Nea disappeared as well, you know." Nea Walker was Mana's younger brother, making him Allen's uncle. Allen, however, had never met him.

"Do you know what I find odd? My cousin, Scion, disappeared around the same time as Nea did. Maybe a little earlier or later, but it was as if they conspired to disappear," Marcus said.

Mana shook his head. "No. Scion never attended any parties or social events, remember? Barely anyone even knew of his existence outside of your family, and Nea was one who often attended parties. They were complete opposites."

Marcus sighed. "I only said that I found it odd is all."

Allen and Blake looked at each other and shrugged. Although the words of the conversation reached them, it was simpler to ignore the talk of the men rather than acknowledge it. Faustina and Kiara were chattering amiably in hushed voices and doing it well enough, after all.

Now that Allen thought about it, the two families had an enormous amount of similarities. Both Marcus and Mana had lost siblings with no clue as to their disappearance. Both Faustina and Kiara were amiable, friendly women who nevertheless were content to let their husbands to the work, while gently raising their two sons. Finally, both Allen and Blake were the same age, and were born with mutated arms. It was odd.

As the coach neared St. Rowena's Square, a scream of terror suddenly shattered the quiet morning, followed by the shocked cries and sounds of running feet of the escorting soldiers. Marcus and Mana instantly put their heads outside the window and gasped.

"Father? What is it?" Allen asked.

The coach suddenly rocked as something struck it with enormous impact. Faustina and Kiara shrieked and clutched their husbands' arms.

"Father! What happened?" Blake demanded.

Marcus and Mana retracted their heads as Faustina and Kiara stuck their heads out to look. Kiara screamed, and Faustina gave a cry of warning.

"Mother!" Blake cried.

"What is going on?" Allen asked.

"Get out!" Faustina shrieked, as she and Kiara retracted their heads from the window.

"Go! Go!" Mana ordered.

Allen jumped out of the coach, followed by Blake. However, right after Faustina was about to climb out by herself, a purple laser blasted the coach and blew it up, sending Allen, Blake, and Faustina flying.

Allen quickly regained his senses, and took in the scene around them. Blake was struggling to his feet and calling out for Allen and his mother. Terrified citizens looked on in horror, but the coach was reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes. Allen could just make out the forms of three bodies lying amongst the rubble, and realization hit him like a train.

"MOTHER! FATHER!" he screamed, running towards the coach.

"Allen! Help me! My mother!" Blake pleaded, struggling with the inert body of Faustina. She had taken the worst of the explosion, and it had cost her dearly. Her dress was shredded, and she bled from dozens of lacerations. Allen tearfully gave one last look at the burning bodies of his parents and Blake's father before rushing to help Blake.

As Allen ran towards Blake, a shrieking roar sounded from nearby, and Allen and Blake turned to see a floating…thing. It was shaped like a ball, with gun barrels pointing out in all directions, and it had a face that made Allen and Blake scream.

The monster turned towards Allen and Blake, and a gun barrel fired an purple energy shot at them. Allen and Blake shut their eyes in fear, waiting for the end, but it never came. The two opened their eyes to see that Faustina, with the last of her strength, had taken the shot for them. Allen and Blake looked on, wide-eyed, as Faustina turned to look back at the two boys with such tenderness that fresh tears burst out of their eyes.

Faustina opened her mouth, but all that came out was a choking gasp as she crumbled to dust. "MOTHER! MOTHER!" Blake cried, tearing into the ash that was once the woman who had comforted him through his darkest times. Allen looked on in shock, unable to say anything.

"I am sorry, but your parents are all dead~," a cheerful new voice said.

Allen and Blake looked up to see a fat man with a wicked grin and glasses. The monster was gone, and the man shook his head sorrowfully. "How sad that such young children have lost their parents~…"

"Who are you?" Blake asked, a tone of suspicion in his voice. It was gone by the time the man spoke his next words.

"Someone who can help you bring them back~," the man offered.

"You can bring them back to life?" Allen asked hopefully. Blake stood up, just as excited as his friend.

The man waved a hand, and four black skeletons with long claws and locked into frames appeared out of nowhere. "If you agree, these will be the catalysts for their souls~. It is ultimately your choice, my dear children~. Do you want your parents back~?"

Allen and Blake nodded vigorously and excitedly. "Then our deal is made~. All you have to do is shake my hand~…" Here the man held out both his hands, one for each boy. "And call out their names~. Then, their souls will enter these models and voila~! Your parents will have returned~!"

"That's all we have to do?" Blake asked.

The man nodded, and Allen and Blake looked at each other for a moment. The decision was unanimous, and both boys took the man's offered hands. "We accept," Allen said.

The man shook both their hands and nodded. "Excellent~!" Then he looked at the outstretched hands; they were both Allen and Blake's mutated arms, covered in cloth wrappings to hide their afflictions. For a moment, the man's expression seemed to grow more dangerous, but it was then gone, and his eyes grew more welcoming. "All right, go on~!"

Allen and Blake walked up to the four statues and both screamed, "MOTHER! FATHER!" exactly at the same time. Their parents' names were scrawled onto the skeletons' heads, and a second later, they began to move.

Allen and Blake's eyes lit up excitedly as Mana Walker's voice slithered out of one skeleton. "Ugh…"

"Where…?" Marcus's voice came out of another.

"Wait…this is…" Kiara's voice came out of the third skeleton.

"Impossible…" Faustina's voice whispered from the last skeleton.

"Mother…Father…" Allen whimpered, tears streaming out of his eyes.

"You're all…alive…" Blake said, holding out his arms.

The four skeletons looked at Allen and Blake. "Allen…Blake…you…" Marcus struggled.

Allen and Blake perked up. "YOU FOOLS! YOU'VE TURNED US INTO AKUMA!" Mana roared, ripping out of his restraints.

"Father, what…?" Allen asked, taken aback.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" Mana roared, slashing his claws at Allen.

"Allen, look out!" Blake's cry of warning came too late. Allen's left eye was agonizing pain as Mana's claws ripped into it. Allen screamed as he flew backwards from the momentum.

Blake was about to turn and shout at the fat man, but with a wicked laugh, he disappeared, leaving the boys to their fate.

Blake looked back and retreated as the other parents struggled out of their restraints. They were all glaring at him. "No…we're your sons…how could you…?"

"You've turned us into Akuma! We'll never forgive you!" Marcus roared, lunging at Blake. Blake cried out and held his right arm out in defense, but then he felt a dull thump in it, and with the thump came a sudden ache.

Time seemed to slow down as Marcus neared Blake, claws ready to rip his son apart. Just as they slashed towards Blake, however, they were thrown aside by Blake's right arm.

Blake opened his eyes to see that his right arm was no longer in front of him, but pointed to the right, where it ended up after parrying Marcus's blow. In fact, the arm was no longer normal. Blake's right arm had burst out of its cloth wrappings and had two long blades that stuck out of the arm like bull's horns, and smaller blades lined the long blades' edges. The long blades extended many feet past Blake's hand, and the main part of Blake's arm was now sheathed in metal.

Blake turned at a shout from Mana, and jumped aside just in time as an enormous silver claw shoved Mana back from Allen. It took Blake a moment to realize that the claw was Allen's changed left arm.

"Ignis…" The shocked Blake didn't know what possessed him to say the Latin word for fire. He screamed as his right arm burst into flames, but then quickly he realized that he felt no pain. He fully regained his senses when his arm pointed towards Marcus, without his willing it. "No…wait…what…" The fire became more intense. "No! Wait! Don't!"

Fire burst out of Blake's arm and engulfed Marcus. The skeleton screamed as the flames licked at his body. "Father!" Blake cried.

"Blake…my son…thank you…" Marcus whispered, before crumbling to dust.

"Father!" Blake screamed again. But he had no time to react, as Faustina and Kiara turned on him. However, Allen's claw raced towards them, dragging Allen with it. It blocked Faustina and Kiara's claws before shooting upwards. Allen realized what was about to happen.

"Mother! Look out!" But he could not stop it. However, Mana shielded his wife, letting the claw rip him into two.

"Mana!" Kiara screamed.

Mana only had time to look at Allen. "Allen…" he rasped, before crumbling just as Marcus had.

"You killed them! You killed them both! You'll pay!" Faustina screamed. She and Kiara surged towards their sons in a frenzy.

Allen's claw and Blake's blades reacted in tandem, and the two boys gave one last futile scream of regret as their arms tore into the metal bodies of their mothers. However, the mothers themselves made no sound as the monstrous claw tore into Kiara's body, and the flaming blades unleashed a wave of fire that engulfed Faustina and the buildings in its path.

Kiara and Faustina reeled backwards, and this caused scraps of metal to fall from their bodies. Unlike Mana and Marcus, Kiara and Faustina had been dealt wounds that would kill them more slowly. There was agonizing pain for them, yes, but perhaps this slow death was a blessing in disguise. It allowed them a few more moments with their sons.

"MOTHER!" Allen and Blake screamed again, even though by now, their throats were raw and their voices were hoarse. Blake bowed his head, trying to hide his tears, but Allen cried openly as Kiara began to fall apart, and Faustina was engulfed in flames.

"Allen…" Kiara whispered.

"Blake…" Faustina echoed.

Allen's attention was caught, and Blake looked up. The skeletons with their mothers' souls were seemingly looking at them, kindly.

"Do not blame yourselves…" Kiara said.

"Mother?" Allen asked. He knew that she was going to die, but could not help reaching out with his untransformed hand.

Blake did the same, but Faustina shook her head. "Do not touch me, Blake. You'll burn yourself," she sighed.

Fresh tears spilled out of Blake's eyes. "Mother…I'm so…"

"Don't cry, son. You set us free from the curse that you put on us. We will always be with you…" Faustina said.

"But…Lady Phantasia…we killed you…twice! It was our fault! You tried to protect us!" Allen sobbed.

"It is the duty of a mother to always protect her child, and you two were our pride and joys. But we want you to remember this: you must never stop moving forward." Allen gasped; those were his father's words. "Don't stop…always keep walking."

"No matter how hard it becomes, you must never stop," Faustina added. As if to prove this statement, her arm fell off, but she kept on talking. "We love you two. We are your parents, and we always will be. Mana and Marcus would say the same."

"But we…" Allen started.

"You set us free. That's all that matters. You two are strong…and that will take you far…" Kiara and Faustina began to fade away.

"Don't go! Mother!" Blake cried.

"We will always be with you…" Faustina murmured as she crumbled away.

"Always…" was Kiara's last word before she did the same.

There was no point in screaming now; the harsh reality finally hit them. Blake turned to Allen and, under the haze of his tears, saw that Allen's hair had been shocked to white. Where once he had chestnut red hair, now it was white. Blake shook his head, wondering what was wrong with this world.

"You there!" Neither Allen nor Blake responded as a platoon of soldiers arrived at the square. The Chief Advisor, Duke Ventrilio, was with them.

As soon as he saw Blake's flaming arm and Allen's claw, he instantly took advantage of the situation. "Guards! Take them into custody immediately!"

"But…Your Grace, they are mere children!"

"They are not children! Look at Blake's arm, and Allen's claw! They have deceived us all this time! They caused all this destruction!" Ventrilio growled.

"Your Grace…"

"Now!"

The guards reluctantly stepped over to the boys, who were still irresponsive. As the guards neared, the boys' arms returned to their original, mutated forms, and hung limp at their sides. The guards lifted Allen and Blake to their feet and led them to the horses nearby.

For the entire ride back to the palace, neither Allen nor Blake responded to any sort of prodding or coaxing. They were too stunned with grief.


"The rest you already know. Chief Advisor Ventrilio accused us of destroying St. Rowena's Square, and because we were still catatonic, you believed him, Your Majesty. You sentenced us to execution, but then we woke up and realized what was going on. Blake's arm suddenly activated, and then he flew us out of the palace and the castle close," Allen said.

"We were found and trained by General Cross of the Black Order, who realized what our arms were and what had happened to us. And until now, we've been biding our time, waiting for our revenge," Blake growled.

"Against whom?" the Queen asked.

Allen's eyes widened slightly before he smiled. "Your Majesty, you do not have to worry; we do not blame you for any of the events that have befallen us."

Blake shrugged. "We did at first; after all, how could the highest power in the land fall prey to the honeyed words of a Chief Advisor? And therein lies the answer to the question; he is your Chief Advisor. You trust him above almost anyone else."

"Trusted," the Queen corrected.

Allen cocked his head. "What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"

The Queen smiled sadly at Allen and Blake. "I am sorry, you two. But…I have been withholding something from you. There were two more pairs of ears listening to your story than you may have liked."

Allen and Blake turned at the clicking of boots to see Lenalee and Lucia slowly padding towards them. There was a deep sadness in their faces as the girls registered the shock in the boys' eyes.

"Lenalee…Lucia?" Allen breathed.

"So that's how it is, huh?" Blake muttered, bitterly. The girls wisely said nothing as they stepped in line with the boys and curtsied.

"Boys…there has been a development that may involve you. As you may well know, I tell every member of my court about any significant decisions that I make. And so, I told them about my decision to pardon you, in light of your saving the nobles two nights ago. When I did, Chief Advisor Ventrilio acted most strangely," the Queen started.

Blake's eyes dilated in anger when Ventrilio was mentioned, but the Queen continued talking. "He became nervous, almost as if he was afraid of you. And when I called for him to accompany me to your informal pardoning, I received no answer. And now, I called for him again, and as you can see, he is not present, and his door was locked when we called for him."

"What do you want us to do?" Allen asked.

"Find him," the Queen ordered.

"And bring him back to you?" Blake asked.

"Yes, if you can. I have the strangest feeling about this entire situation, and so, in the event that you cannot bring him back, deal with him however you wish. But do not attack him unless he attacks you," the Queen said.

"Is that why they're here?" Blake asked, jerking his head at Lenalee and Lucia.

"Yes. They are here to assist and keep watch on you. I know exactly how volatile the both of you can be, so they are to keep you under their watch." The Queen looked at Lenalee and Lucia. "Make sure that Allen and Blake do not do anything out of line."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Lenalee said.

"Your Majesty?" Blake asked.

"Yes?"

"I ask permission to search Duke Ventrilio's room. It may be possible that he has left the palace, and if he has, it is possible that his room holds some clues as to his escape route," Blake said.

"You will break the door?" the Queen asked.

"If you will permit it," Blake said.

The Queen looked at Blake, who, although practically daring her to agree with his words, was completely unhesitating when he said them. Finally, she nodded after she realized that Blake's method was probably the most efficient one.

"Permission granted."

And that's that.