Obligatory Chapter Heading:

Chapter 10:

Days passed, two weeks both flying and dragging by, and Dawn hadn't talked to anyone, wouldn't come out of her room. Until yesterday.

Which was when the guild forms had been submitted. Elreid, Eltia, and Merritt had worked tirelessly, filling everything out to a T and making sure everything was in order. With Gunther's help. He'd even sent a letter to Deckard, to let him know about it and ask for his opinion. The Calderock Guild Master had sent multiple letters back, containing gifts. A clear sign of his blessing.

Stamps and jewelry. Nine rings, nine necklaces, and nine sets of earrings. The Justitias had been excited upon seeing them all, saying something about them being enchanted and very costly to get your hands on.

Along with a letter that was solely about being sorry to hear about our losses. Kind words about the both of them, how helpful they were. How much potential they had. Wishing us the best of luck and hoping we would all continue along the path of helping people, but to stay safe and be careful. Keep an eye on each other.

It was both easier and harder this time, losing myself in doing errands for people. Nothing terribly dangerous, and we kept to the buddy system. Taking it that much more seriously. Even I stopped literally throwing myself into danger. If someone had told me that six months ago, I would've laughed in their face, since it was a pastime for me.

The others periodically checked in on Rose, though I ducked the responsibility. I really didn't like the feeling I got from her. It was suffocating, like a hand wrapping around my throat. Whether it was her or something that had latched onto her, I wasn't sure. Nor did I care enough to look into it. Kind of had a lot on my mind, and I wasn't looking to add anything else into the mix. Feeling like I was one breath away from death whenever I was near her meant no Ana. Nope. Nuh-uh.

When Lady Lena let slip to Elreid that Serpentra had been spotted again, this time terrorizing the coast, the Lancea, without hesitation, had asked for more information. It had destroyed countless ships, drowning dozens of people at sea. Only a handful, survivors barely hanging on, had managed to get back to Hermalte Port. They all had the same tale: the waters had been calm, no sign of storm above or below. Without warning, the giant serpent had shot up out of the water and wrapped around the ship, constricting and crushing it. Breaking it into pieces and letting it sink. Preying on the crew, eating them. General Douglas had sent a team of soldiers two days ago, but they had yet to return.

I was leaving the castle, having separated from Aedethali upon returning to the city square, after telling Duke Stuart that the task he'd wanted was finished. He was a stick-up-the-ass noble, but he wasn't all bad. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but he wasn't nearly as awful as some of the nobles in Amaranthine. The ones who'd plotted my death.

Lena called out to me, waving me over. She was wringing one of her many handkerchiefs, very anxious.

"I... may have done something wrong." She began, voice barely above a whisper.

"Coming from you, that's saying something." I raised an eyebrow.

She was the infamous White Rose, the person kidnapping nobles to interrogate them. To be fair, they were in league with the Dragon Cultists, a mostly unknown third party that was constantly popping up, in connection with missing and dead people. Supposedly they followed one of the dragons, but none of them had ever given any indication as to which one. It had been widely believed that they'd followed Velskud, but Alina had said they were after him. That he'd escaped their master, but she wouldn't tell any of us who that was. I'm sure it had something to do with influencing the future, so I never pushed the subject when it came up.

Anyway, with her double life, I was worried that meant she might've been found out. With-out proof that any of those nobles were part of the cult, there was nothing protecting her. She'd be toast, if anyone found out. Especially her father, General Douglas. It would come back on him, as well, people making false connections that he must've known and abided by it.

"I..." She took a deep breath and spoke in a rush. "may have told Elreid about Serpentra reappearing, and she ran off."

"Oh." I took a step backward.

It was back again. Would we have to fight it...? Our encounter had barely lasted a few minutes, and two people had... It had been an utter disaster...

"She said something about making a guild. Did she do it yet? Are you a member?"

"I... Yeah. She filed yesterday for it. We'll hear today."

Just as the words left my lips, I felt a jolt, similar to electricity, zing through my body. Hands flying to my forehead, I winced.

"Oh! I think it was just formed!" She grabbed my arm, staring at me with wide eyes. "Try to send a message to her. You have to make sure she's okay. Please."

"Send... a message? Like, mail?"

"No." A quick shake of her head. "People in a guild can send telepathic messages to other members. Even to multiple people at the same time." Like a group chat. Huh. "Try it. Please."

Here goes nothing, I guess.

Concentrating, probably harder than necessary, I reached out mentally. "Elreid, where are you? Lady Lena is worried about you."

"Ana? I'm..."

An image of where Merritt and I had had tea that one day, where we'd talked about being from the same world, flashed behind my eyes.

Focusing on Lena once again. "She's over at the Justitia estate. It's by a graveyard."

"The tea garden. I know the place."

"Right. So, what are you still doing here?"

An "oh!", and she was gone. Rushing down the halls to leave the castle. To get to Elreid. Honestly, those two were both extremely smart, but they thought they were hiding their relationship from everyone. Yet, our whole group knew. We just didn't acknowledge it, because it wasn't our business. If either of them wanted to talk about it, they would.

"The guild has officially been formed! "Vivid Void" is all ours." Merritt's voice wound its way through my mind, and I instinctively knew it was a group message.

Vivid, for bright and full of life we all were. Zofya and Zethial had been, too. How we all felt strongly about helping people when we could. And Void, because the loss of those two, three for me, had created a dull, empty space where they'd once been. Thus, we'd come up with Vivid Void. It was the thing that had taken the longest, settling on a name.

And that discussion had been what had brought Dawn out. She'd been the one to recommend it, giving that explanation. She'd heard it all, how none of us were able to come up with even a word we'd liked enough to put forward and, in her despair, almost as if it was being whispered to her by an unseen person, Vivid Void had sprung up.

She still hadn't left the house, but at least she'd graduated to being out of her room... That was a step forward, however small it may have seemed to someone on the outside.

Elreid came home late in the night, finding us all still awake. We'd stayed up to wait for her, choosing not to send her any messages because we wanted her to have her privacy. She would come back when she was ready.

"So... Serpentra is terrorizing the coast." The first words out of her mouth upon seeing us, before going through the conversation she and Lady Lena had had about it.

I hadn't mentioned it, not wanting to spook the others or make them feel like they had to do something about it. I was going to give it a day or two, since as far as I knew, it was only being spotted. I had no idea it had been attacking people.

"I want to help, but..." Liam's glass shattered, the force of his grip too much for it, sending everyone to their feet in surprise. "Sorry."

"We should." Aedethali, hands on the table as she leaned over it, spoke up while Illaria used her magic to clean up the debris. "We should help Saints Haven. Zofya and Zethial would want us to. They died for it. We can't turn our backs on that."

Elreid looked to her with tears in her eyes. "Aede..."

Dawn nodded, a determined expression on her face. "I'm going to help."

If even Dawn was in, we all were.

It was a good thing we'd all come to an agreement, because only minutes later, there was a knock on the front door. No one had ever come to the house, in all the weeks we'd been here, and confused glances were exchanged all around.

Merritt was the one to reach it first, opening it to reveal General Douglas. Looking harried and... kind of nervous. I hadn't seen the man be anything but cool as a cucumber and in control, and it was alarming to see him in such a state.

"I-There-You-" He paused, taking a deep breath.

"Do you want to come in, General?" She asked, stepping aside. Concerned, as we all were, I'm sure.

"I-Yes. Thank you." We led him into the living room. Sitting on one of the armchairs, he ran a hand through his hair. Trying to collect himself. "Serpentra downed another ship, one that was carrying the second round of soldiers that was supposed to engage with it. Over three dozen men and women, lost." I didn't understand why they thought sending out a ship full of people on to the ocean would help. How it would take down a sea serpent. "I've come to ask for your aid again."

More glances between each other.

"Actually, we'd just finished discussing it before you arrived."

"And your answer?"

"We'll help."

The tension and anxiety seemed to drain away as he slumped, eyes closing. Lips moving. A silent prayer? "Good. Thank you."

"We'll need a day to prepare, make sure we have enough health and mana potions. Speak to the trainers and see what they have to say about the serpent from the last time it appeared."

The last time...? It had come around before? I wondered what that meant, if it had merely been- Wait. The bishop had... Merritt and Elreid were right, my instincts were right, weren't they? He'd been sending some of our group on missions to collect ingredients, saying it would help defeat it, but so far there'd been no fruit to their labors.

The two Justitias had almost been kicked out of the castle, nearly banned from the grounds, because they'd voiced their concerns about him not being truthful about the things he was having us do. If it hadn't been for Duke Stuart, who'd sworn up and down that he didn't care one way or another, they would've been.

Which had only made the distrust grow, this time among everyone else in the group.