"She wouldn't have done that," Anastasia said, sounding unsure. My eyes shifted to her and I remembered something vaguely.

"You knew," My eyes narrowed despite my best attempt to remain calm.

You're letting your emotions get the better of you. Stop it.

She looked flustered and guilty, biting her lower lip and looking away. It was quiet for a moment before she said softly, "After she… left… I got a letter. It explained the situation, albeit vaguely," She looked up to us, her eyes desperate, "I would have told you all, really! B-But it said that…" She turned her face away, eyes focused on the floor before saying in an even quieter voice, "It said that I was the only one who could know."

"So you just let it go," Metal's voice was tight and he had his eyes shut tightly, "We thought she was dead and you… let us?"

"I'm sorry," She said softly.

We sat in silence for a few moments, nothing disturbing the tight air. Then I realized something else.

It was silent.

I stood suddenly, walking to the bathroom quickly and knocking loudly, "Kadence?"

No reply came.

Damn it!

I stood back and kicked open the door, breaking the lock as I did so. Inside was completely empty, the window slightly ajar.

"Son of a..." Metal drifted off, sounding annoyed. Behind him Anastasia groaned, and I heard her drop her head to the table with a soft bang. I refrained from a similar reaction, instead turning and striding to the front door.

As I opened it I turned to Metal seriously, saying, "Stay here and look after the kid. I'll find her."

He nodded and I shut the door behind myself, beginning to stride down the halls and look around.

Where am I even meant to look?! Can't she sit still for five minutes...

I passed clerics and knights, all moving out of the way as I stormed through. I stopped upon seeing a group of my knights, asking quickly, "That girl from this morning, have you seen her?"

They shook their heads silently, looking shocked. I sighed softly, nodding to myself and saying, "Keep an eye out."

The nodded, looking like bobble heads. I turned and left, frowning as I did so. I stopped to ask a few more familiar faces that I passed; Moon, Ice, Leaf... None of them had so much as seen a hair of her.

How does somebody that conspicuous manage to avoid all these people?!

I stopped in my tracks, thinking hard. If I didn't want anybody to see me, how would I go about it?

I looked around the hall thoughtfully, eyes passing over the light bricks and glimpses of green. If she had run from the window, she would have had to have passed somebody. It just wasn't scenery you could blend into easily. So then...
Roof?

I looked upwards, though I knew I wouldn't be able to see anybody. Above me was the creamy ceiling, completely bare. I walked out of the corridor and into the open green, raising my gaze to the roof again. I couldn't see anybody there, but it was my best guess.

So, with a sigh, I began walking to more familiar ground. I knew that around the Sunflower patch was an area that I could use to lift myself onto the roof. I wish I knew magic. Then I could just jump onto the roof...

It was only a short while until I was standing inside the cluster of buildings, looking around for the best area to leverage myself up. In the end, I didn't have to.

"Oof!" The sound of something- or rather, someone- hitting the grass sounded behind me, making me jump. When I turned I saw a mass of gold sprawled onto the floor, looking entirely unladylike. I raised one eyebrow, glaring at the person and waiting for them to notice me. She raised her hand to her backside, complaining loudly, "Ow!"

"What," I said quietly, trying not to scare her, "Do you think you're doing?"

"What do you think you're doing?!" She snapped, holding her hand out and glaring back at me, "Help me up!"

I sighed, but grasped her tiny hand with my own and pulled her up. When I was finished she didn't let go, confusing me until I noticed how very cold my leg felt. I looked down at it in shock, not entirely surprised to see it encased in ice. When I looked back up my eyes were narrowed and she was looking at me steadily.

"What are you doing?" I growled in a low voice.

"I'm leaving. I can't remain here any longer," She said. It brought back the painful memory that I had played again and again in my head, until it was as sharp as any sword.

Caelan looked at me, her eyes pained and her jaw clenched, "I'm leaving the Twelve Holy Knights. I can't remain here any longer."

Shock ran through my body, widening my eyes. I wanted to question it, to rebuke his claim and convince him to stay. My hand moved forward without me telling it to, reaching out. Then the pain exploded in my head, accompanied by the sound of a shattering chair. The last thing I saw was him looking down at me, eyes filled with remorse.

My hand tightened around hers and she frowned, looking down on it in annoyance before her eyes shifted to mine. Then she froze, eyebrows raising and eyes widening. I don't know what it was that made her stop, but she did.

"Don't," I said clearly through clenched teeth.

"Why should I stay?" She asked coldly, the edges of her lips dragging down. The expression didn't suit her.

Because you're actually the Sun Knight, you just don't remember because you chose to forget about us and disappear.

"Reasons," I said vaguely, avoiding her glare.

"Of course. Reasons that, for some unknown reason, everybody seems to be hiding from me," She sounded furious, and the temperature dropped slightly. All these years and you still haven't learnt control.

"Can't you just stay until we figure everything out? I'll avoid you, if that's what you want," As soon as I said it the temperature dropped further. I looked up to see her face twisted into a snarl, and she snatched back her hand angrily.

"Oh of course," She snarled sarcastically, "I'll just sit to the side blindfolded while you all figure everything out and don't tell me anything. You can shove me in another bathroom too, if it helps. After all, I don't have feelings. You can all prance around in your little secret group and talk about whatever it is about me that's got everybody on edge!"

"We're not-" I froze, looking behind me in panick. The temperature had dropped drastically, making a climate completely unfamiliar for the warm South. And it's plants. In a hurried voice I snapped, "Get yourself under control!"

"Ha?!" She sounded incredulous, "You actually have the nerve-!"

"You can get angry at me later, you're going to make them wilt," Already the flowers seemed to be drooping slightly, "They can't take the cold climate..."

A moment passed and the temperature raised slightly. I let out the large breath that I hadn't realised I had been holding. The flowers didn't look better, but they had stopped deteriorating.

"Thank you," I sighed, eyes shifting to the ice around my leg in annoyance, "Would you mind?"

"I would, actually," She said, sounding slightly more under control.

"At least go back to Anastasia and Metal," I said quietly.

"No," She said. I looked up to see her walking to one of the walls. I expected her to vault onto the roof, but instead she sat, facing me. Her face was blank as she asked, "What is everybody hiding from me?"

"It's best... if you don't know," I said slowly, feeling like an idiot.

Rather than prying she was silent for a few moments. In a childish voice she finally asked, "Do you regret me coming to Leaf Bud City?"

It surprised me when the answer didn't come straight to my lips. I should have said no, but...

"I must have done something really bad, huh?" Her voice was quiet and her head was hung.

Yes. No. I don't know. As Caelan, you seem so sad. As Kadence, you seemed to carefree. Maybe it would have been best if you continued to live like that.

"I can't remember, though," She mumbled, sounding like a lost child.

"Can't remember what?" I asked softly.

She made an irritated sound, raising her hands to her head, "I don't know what I can't remember. There are gaps everywhere. I can't remember names... times... Urgh. I don't remember what I did to make you so angry, damn it."

We were silent, me unwilling to answer and her unwilling to let it pass. Finally she looked up, making me feel guilty. I'm such a jerk.

Her face was filled with worry, tears threatening to spill over her eyes. In a shaking voice she asked, "Am I going crazy? Is that why everybody seems so wary of me? Is that why I can't remember?"


Wah... So many reviews! Thank you all so much! TuT