Back again from fantasy land, here with another look into my confused mess of a mind.

"You had something to do with this, I just know it," said Louise, drawing the attention of a number of students in the relatively quiet courtyard.

"With what, Louise," Darrian remarked in a bland tone, not looking up from the Phoenix Blaster that he was currently polishing. Louise glared at him cutely for a moment, hands on hips, before huffing and dropping into an empty chair across from him.

"Kirche. The Zerbst," Louise said as if it explained anything, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers. Of course, Darrian had an idea of where Louise was going.

"What about her?" Darrian asked, setting down his Blaster and cloth to focus his attention on the girl across from him, noting absently that she seemed more mildly annoyed than truly upset.

"She joined me for breakfast this morning," Louise bit out, her finger tapping increasing in tempo somewhat, earning a raised eyebrow from Darrian. "And spent the whole meal complaining about every little thing that ran through her mind."

"I'm not seeing an issue here, Louise," Darrian commented with a blank stare, earning a small growl of frustration from the pink haired girl.

"The issue," Louise stressed, holding up a finger for emphasis, "is that she didn't make any of it about me. No insults, no mockery, nothing. So spill. What did you do?"

Louise glared hard at Darrian, who stared back unfazed. For a moment, the two were silent as Darrian contemplated just how blunt he was going to need to be.

"Look, Louise," Darrian sighed, "You've got problems. Other than just your magic thing. The way you're being treated by your family is one, and by your peers is another. So when I had a chance to speak my mind to the person that seems to be dealing the brunt of it, I took it."

Louise didn't respond, holding her glare for another moment before huffing and slumping over with a glum expression. After a moment, Darrian reached over and poked Louise firmly in the forehead, pulling her from her glowering.

"I get that you want to keep truckin' along," Darrian said softly, a look of quiet sympathy on his face. "Putting your head down and trying to move forward is respectable. But your problems are just piling up, and they need to be dealt with in a way that isn't just… looking the other way or ignoring them."

"I know," Louise said quietly, staring down at her hands folded in her lap. "I just… I'm a higher noble. The daughter of a duke, you know? I should be able to take it, at least."

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should have to," Darrian pointed out, earning another sigh from Louise. "Anyway, if it makes you feel better, my conversation with the Zerbst will functionally be a one time thing. Your family didn't teach you how to deal with your problems, so I'm going to instead. Got it?"

Louise looked back up at Darrian without responding. After holding his gaze for a moment, she gave him a shy smile, which Darrian returned. Another moment later, Louise straightened up and resumed a haughty demeanor.

"As if you, a mere commoner, would have anything useful to teach me," Louise drawled with a flamboyant tone, though her lips were quirked up ever so slightly, and Darrian could tell it was just an act.

"Bite me," Darrian quipped, shooting Louise an amused grin, and the two shared a laugh. As the amusement faded, Louise's smile fell into something more soft. Something swelled in her heart then, an old feeling that was oddly comfortable, that reminded her greatly of her second eldest sister Cattleya.

Looking at Darrian, Louise felt like she had a reason to be genuinely happy for the first time in years.

Contrary to popular belief, Tabitha d'Orleans had many feelings. Her many emotions swirled around in her head and heart constantly, but their lack of use during her many trials growing up meant she needed to keep a tight lid on them at all times. Unfortunately, that left her in a position where she was unable to truly understand her emotions, further incentivising her decision to just keep them locked away. She didn't need them to complete her missions, anyway.

And then the summoning happened. Many people had thrown looks of admiration or jealousy Tabitha's way when she'd summoned a dragon, the most impressive summon of the year by a wide margin, and yet she couldn't really bring herself to share the excitement. Having a dragon on her side would certainly make some of her missions easier, she supposed. No, she was far more preoccupied with a different familiar. Darrian, the apparently foreign commoner that Louise had summoned, who had spontaneously sprouted wings and taken his master into the sky for a time.

Tabitha had known right away that there was something different about him. Seeing the look on his face as the dust had cleared, she understood it all too well - Darrian was a veteran, a survivor of terrible events, who had lost something very dear to him.

Just like me…

Which put Tabitha in a tough position. On one hand, she knew she ought to just leave herself out of it. Getting close to anyone ran the risk of her uncle and his minions meddling, a risk she was already dangerously running by being friends with Kirche. She didn't want to risk it for someone who was already dealing with their own problems.

On the other hand, it was clear that Darrian was still dealing with the grief associated with whatever he'd gone through. It was a process that Tabitha was far too familiar with by now, and seeing someone else have to endure the same grief made her heart hurt.

Tabitha wanted to believe that she was torn on whether or not to be involved, but she'd already literally reached out to him. She'd almost forgotten what it was like to show her emotions, but Darrian had understood what she was trying to say, and had allowed her to share that moment with him.

Before there had even been any time to consider, Tabitha had already become involved. Worse still, she couldn't stop thinking about how warm his hand had been.

Tabitha hoped she would have a chance to speak with Darrian soon. To that end, she'd allowed Kirche to rope her into joining Louise for lunch in the courtyard that afternoon, much to the pink haired girl's mild annoyance. Unfortunately, Darrian wasn't present for the meal, having opted to assist the servants with their duties. Out of boredom, Louise had said.

"...and it was just a poor showing, especially after how he'd talked himself up," Kirche sighed, twirling her glass around idly and watching her drink settle itself.

"I haven't the faintest idea why you'd think I care," Louise commented airily with a look that crossed between amusement and discomfort. Kirche just carried on as if Louise hadn't said anything, causing her to slump over in despair. Tabitha couldn't help but sympathize with Louise at that moment. The number of times that Kirche had complained to Tabitha over her misadventures with boys was staggering, but she'd learned to tune it out after a while.

Turning a page in her book, Tabitha found she couldn't properly concentrate on it at all. It was just as well, she'd read this one a thousand times, but it still bugged her somewhat. Silent as ever, she closed her book and set it down, drawing the attention of the other two girls at the table. As silence reigned over their table, Tabitha decided that she could at least ask Louise if she knew anything about her familiar's circumstances.

A decision that Tabitha was immediately distracted from when she heard Darrian's voice nearby. Pushing a trolley as he made rounds throughout the courtyard, Darrian approached each table, working in tandem with a maid to offer food or drink to the occupants before moving on. Tabitha watched as he interacted with each table, smiling brightly as he offered service, but there was a single brief instant between each table that the smile would drop.

Tabitha pursed her lips and, carefully ignoring the curious stares of Louise and Kirche, waited patiently for Darrian to work his way towards her end of the courtyard.

As Darrian moved to serve a table close to where Tabitha was sitting, an obstacle appeared to halt his progress.

"Hey hey, how's it going, we've got a fantastic selection here," Darrian greeted with a friendly smile as he began explaining the available menu, which was received surprisingly well by Guiche and Montmorency, who were enjoying a lunch date. It was actually going quite smoothly, compared to their last encounter a few nights prior. At least, it was going smoothly until the very end of Darrian's showing. "And finally, there's this delicious looking soufflé. Probably won't be as good as the one from the other day, but homemade with love is always a tough bar to beat."

Montmorency, who had expressed interest in the dish beforehand, went still as Darrian set it down in front of her. Guiche didn't seem to notice, and went on to request his own choice of dish. Darrian bid them farewell and finally made his way towards where Louise and the others were sitting, chatting idly with his maid companion and dropping the charisma entirely.

"Hold a moment."

Montmorency had risen from her seat and crossed the distance to tug at Darrian's sleeve with an icy, yet somehow blank expression. Darrian looked back at her with a look of confusion, then swapped his gaze to an equally confused Guiche, and back again. Sharing a look of her own with Darrian, the maid continued on with the trolley, turning back to watch when she reached Louise's table.

"'The one from the other day, homemade with love'," Montmorency quoted slowly, earning a look of realization from the pair of young men. Darrian took a half step back from the blonde girl's grip, scratching the back of his head with an awkward expression, and saying nothing. Guiche immediately began panicking, rising from his seat to try and control the damage.

"M-miss Montmorency, please allow me to explain," Guiche pleaded, reaching towards the blonde girl, who turned and smacked the offending hand away without skipping a beat.

"You, be silent," Montmorency commanded with a pointed glare before turning back to Darrian. Louise and Kirche shared a look, and Tabitha was exasperated to note that her redheaded friend looked positively scandalized. "Answer me now, commoner. What were you referring to?"

Darrian confusedly swapped his gaze between Montmorency and Guiche, the latter of whom sent him a variety of panicked and pleading expressions. After a moment, he seemed to realize the implication behind the blonde girl's anger, and his expression hardened.

"The evening after the summoning happened," Darrian began with a steely tone, and Guiche began waving his arms, panicking harder and trying desperately to stop the coming storm. Thankfully, the attempt was destroyed when Darrian pressed on. "I encountered Guiche in the halls. There was a girl with him, asking him to try the soufflé that she made. To be fair, I don't actually know what kind of relationship they have, since our conversation went in a different direction, but…"

Darrian trailed off, but the implications were clear to everyone who was paying attention. Montmorency closed her eyes and took a very deep breath, making a visible attempt to hold herself together.

"Montmorency…" Guiche called in a pleading tone, causing the blonde girl to snap. She turned and slapped Guiche across the face as hard as she could manage, and the impressive sound of it drew the attention of the entire courtyard. Everything came to a complete halt as everyone turned to stare at a visibly distraught Montmorency, and also at Guiche, who was still reeling in pain.

"How dare you…!" Montmorency ground out, tears beginning to fall from her tightening eyes. Before it could escalate further, someone began poking their way through the courtyard, and eventually stumbled onto the edge of the newly forming crowd.

"Lord Guiche…?" Katie gasped, holding her hands over her mouth as her own tears began to form.

"M-miss Katie, this isn't…" Guiche pleaded once again, taking a step towards the brown haired girl, who immediately reared back and slapped him across his other cheek.

Silence reigned in the courtyard as many confused or amused looks were exchanged amongst the various students or servants present. Then as if nothing happened, everyone went back about their business, with Katie and Montmorency storming off in opposite directions, leaving Guiche to look like a fool alone in the center of the courtyard.

"That was dramatic," Darrian commented in a low tone, earning nods of agreement from Louise and Siesta. They too went about their business, with Darrian and Siesta providing lunch to the trio at the table. Unbeknownst to them, Guiche had turned to glare daggers at Darrian, gripping his rose wand so tight his knuckles went white.

"Commoner," Guiche spat with a venomous tone, prompting Siesta to clam up and hide behind Darrian, who turned to face the blonde noble with a blank expression.

"Is there something with which I can assist you?" Darrian asked in a bland tone, taking a step to hide Siesta behind him the same way he had before.

"How dare you make those two ladies cry!?" Guiche exclaimed, pointing his rose at Darrian in an accusatory fashion, and earning only a dumbfounded look in return.

"...Seriously?"

Darrian stared back slack jawed, amazed at the audacity of the blonde noble in front of him. That sentiment was shared by Louise and Siesta both, the latter of whom was peeking out from behind Darrian with an incredulous expression. Kirche had taken to leaning on the table, an amused smile plastered on her face as she enjoyed the drama.

"I'm quite serious!" Guiche said hotly with narrowed eyes, holding his rose close to his face with a mildly dramatic pose. "I could never abide one who would pain two fair maidens!"

"Yes, that would explain your attempt at cheating on them both," Darrian quipped sarcastically, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You played with fire and got burned. You pained those two maidens, you made them cry. That's not my problem."

"Enough! I will have you answer for your transgressions!" Guiche cried, puffing his chest out and brandishing his rose yet again. "I challenge you! Ten minutes hence, here in the Vestri Court, we shall duel!"

"Denied," Darrian responded without skipping a beat.

"Wh- you don't get to deny!" Guiche complained with an offended look.

"And you don't get to decide how I respond to your challenge," Darrian said with a blase tone. "I gain nothing from accepting, and lose nothing by denying. As I said before, this is your problem, not mine. I want no part of it."

Darrian turned away with an exasperated sigh, motioning for Siesta to resume their duties, sending Louise a quick smile as he passed her by. Of course, this was an unacceptable outcome for Guiche, who could only growl to himself at being shown a cold shoulder for the second time that afternoon.

"Coward!" Guiche yelled angrily, stomping his foot in indignation, drawing the attention of many students in the courtyard once again. Darrian stopped and slumped over with a defeated expression, but didn't turn to face Guiche again. For a moment, silence reigned, and the anger on Guiche's face morphed into something more malicious. "With caitiff behavior such as this, it's no wonder your team did not survive their battle! And they should be so lucky, so as not to bear witness to such-"

"Shut your mouth!" Darrian yelled, cutting Guiche off. At the exact same moment, Tabitha shot up from her seat, knocking her chair over with an anger that made her blood boil with a desire to kill. Kirche stared at Tabitha in shock, surprised that the normally silent girl would react with such an emotional outburst. Louise either didn't notice or didn't care, too busy trying to suppress her own anger toward the blonde fop.

Darrian turned to face Guiche fully, gritting his teeth and clenching his hands into fists as he put all his effort into holding himself together, even as his eyes began to water. Once again, all eyes in the courtyard were on them.

Guiche swapped his gaze between Darrian and Tabitha in surprise, somehow not expecting such a hostile reaction to his goading.

"They died… as heroes," Darrian bit out, his voice wavering and cracking as he shook just first in Guiche's general direction. "They gave their lives for the sake of protecting people! And you stand there, saying that they were lucky to die, implying that they deserved it just because I couldn't protect them-"

Darrian cut himself off, shaking his fist a few more times before turning away, gritting his teeth and losing the battle to keep his tears contained. Louise rose from her seat to try and comfort Darrian, shooting Guiche dirty looks at the same time. Kirche, in turn, had risen to whisper in Tabitha's ear, to try and calm her down.

"Guiche…?"

The blonde's eyes snapped to one side, finding that Montmorency had returned to the courtyard, and was now staring at him in absolute horror.

"M-M-Montmorency…" Guiche squeaked, the reality of his actions finally setting in. Just as before, he tried to reach a hand out to try and control the damage, but it was already far too late.

"That's just… monstrous…" Montmorency declared, holding her hands over her mouth as she stared at Guiche with a horrified expression. That horror quickly turned to anger, and she marched right up to Guiche, taking him by one wrist and pulling on him roughly. "You're the son of a general, you should know better! You take back what you said, this instant!"

"Don't."

Darrian laid a hand gently on Montmorency's shoulder for a moment, distracting her from her anger, before pulling back and wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Where I'm from," Darrian began hoarsely, sounding as exhausted as he looked, "we have a word that we use to call people like him. That word is 'troll'. A troll is someone that takes pleasure in causing drama, starting fights, and manipulating the emotions of people around them. They love provoking people, and feed off the anger or hurt that they inflict. It's all just a game, to them."

Montmorency was silent, eyes downcast as she let go of Guiche's wrist. Darrian shoved his hands back in his pockets, giving the blonde girl an appreciative look before staring up into the sky.

"Trolls thrive on the attention they get," Darrian said bluntly, staring blankly at Guiche, who just looked away out of shame. "People like you or me are just toys, tools to gather the attention they crave. Best thing we can do is put it out of our minds, and not give them what they want. Trust me, in a troll's game, the only winning move is not to play."

Darrian turned and walked away, wiping at his eyes again, and stopping long enough to extract a quick hug from Louise. Montmorency watched him leave for a moment, then shot Guiche another dirty look as she left herself. Kirche righted Tabitha's chair and guided the silent, angry girl back to it, with Louise rejoining them at the table moments later.

Guiche stood alone in the center of the courtyard, filled with shame and looking the fool even more than before.

It was well into the night when Tabitha finally cornered her prey.

Given her luck, it seemed fitting that it wouldn't happen for several hours after she'd given up for the day entirely, but the opportunity was before her and she wasn't going to complain about it. Tabitha had taken her dragon, Sylphiid, into the upper sky for the first time, in an effort to blow off some steam. Despite hours having passed by, she was still agitated over Guiche's goading from that afternoon. As she was enjoying the cool air of the upper sky, she saw him.

Sitting upon a wooden platform that seemed to defy gravity, with his legs hanging over the edge, Darrian gazed out over the night fallen world. With a bit of care, Tabitha guided Sylphiid onto the platform, and was surprised to see it able to bear the weight without breaking. Tabitha slid from Sylphiid's back quietly and sat down next to Darrian, reaching over to take one of his hands the way she had before, and was suitably pleased when his only response was to twine his fingers through hers.

Behind them, Sylphiid laid herself down, curling up and laying her head so that her nose was pushing into the empty space between Darrian and Tabitha. For a time, things were silent between them, with only the sound of the wind to fill the silence.

"I know what you were about to do, earlier," Darrian murmured, glancing sidelong at Tabitha for a moment. "It wasn't necessary of you, but… thank you."

"It was wrong," Tabitha whispered in response, casting her eyes downward and tightening her grip on Darrian's hand a bit.

"It was," Darrian agreed with a sigh, running his thumb in gentle circles over the back of Tabitha's hand until her grip loosened once more.

The pair of them fell silent again, something that frustrated Tabitha. She had the chance she'd been waiting for, only to find she couldn't summon the words to say or ask the things she wanted to.

"You're hurting too, aren't you," Darrian commented quietly. Tabitha looked up and met his gaze, then looked away again, saying nothing. Another moment of silence passed before Tabitha finally found the will to start talking.

"My father was killed in a hunting accident, when I was little," Tabitha started, her voice scratchy and quiet from years of disuse. "At least, that was the public news. The truth is… he was assassinated."

Darrian could only grimace, holding her hand a bit tighter and tracing his thumb in circles again.

"Later, I attended a gala in the capital, with my mother," Tabitha continued, her already scratchy voice becoming more strained with every word. "I was given a flute of wine. My mother suspected treachery and drank it. It was poisoned."

"You lost them both, so close together," Darrian surmised with a grimace.

"In a sense," Tabitha murmured almost inaudibly, eyes downcast once more. "She didn't die, but it greatly affected her mind. She… no longer recognizes me as her daughter."

Idly, Tabitha wondered if she'd spoken more aloud in this conversation than she had in recent years at all. She hadn't said a whole lot, and yet her throat was already sore from all the talking she'd just done, which seemed indicative. In the back of her mind, Tabitha could only wonder why she would reveal so much to someone who was practically a stranger, no matter how similar to herself he seemed.

"After that, I was ordained as a knight and sent on a mission that was meant to kill me. When I returned, I was given another mission. Again and again…"

Tabitha's voice finally gave out with a choke, and she couldn't help but cough as she tried to contain the burning sensation in her throat. Darrian let go of her hand and rubbed her back gently to ease her coughing fit. Once it was under control, Tabitha was quick to take his hand back in hers, enjoying the first bit of real warmth she'd felt in years.

"Must be some kind of foul play for things to play out like that," Darrian noted with a hint of disgust in his voice. He was more right than he realized, but Tabitha couldn't risk revealing any of the finer details to him. It was bad enough that she gave even a general overview, but things would change for the worse if people started knowing about her royal lineage and the effect it was having on the other side of her family. Tabitha remained silent and set her gaze forward. Darrian glanced sidelong at her again, noting her lack of response and sensing that it was probably his turn to overshare.

"In the world I come from, we don't have magic." Darrian began quietly, earning a curious glance from Tabitha. "It just doesn't exist, outside fiction. I guess different worlds have different rules, I don't know. But… something found us. It didn't identify itself, not at first, but it was powerful enough to make its will into reality."

Darrian fell silent for a moment as he struggled to find the words to describe what happened.

"Whatever it was, it was extremely sadistic. I was working at a grocery store, and between workers and customers, there were around… probably a hundred people there. And we all got trapped into the building by that… thing."

"Using its power, it created something that… mimicked a world that appeared in fiction. That world was called Terraria, and it was filled to the brim with beautiful landscapes, powerful magic items, and deadly monsters. And then it issued a challenge, for someone to enter that world and slay the most powerful monster in it - the Moon Lord."

"The 'Moon Lord'?" Tabitha quoted with a raised eyebrow. She couldn't quite wrap her head around something so simply named being a powerful monster. Darrian just nodded in confirmation, and the look on his face told Tabitha that he thought the same thing.

"I volunteered to take the challenge," Darrian continued on, setting his gaze towards the pair of moons in front of them. "I was already really familiar with Terraria and everything in it, so even though I had never fought before in my life up to then, I thought I could at least make the attempt. Three of my coworkers volunteered to join me, people I got along and worked real good with. Two of my friends were there too, one of whom was my best friend, Blake, who I saw as a brother."

"None of them made it," Tabitha realized, remembering what Guiche had said in the courtyard hours prior. Knowing that now made her blood boil all over again, and she was tempted to try and kill him in his sleep. Darrian could only nod in subdued confirmation, either unwilling or unable to give voice to her being right.

"It was only after we made it into Terraria proper that we were informed of the consequences of failure," Darrian said quietly, distracting Tabitha from her murderous thoughts. "Not only did we have a single life each, as you'd expect, but if everyone on the team died before the challenge was completed… everyone at the store would be executed."

Tabitha drew in a breath when she heard that. Over a hundred lives riding on the success of six people slaying a powerful monster, and she was sure it was more complicated even than that.

"The people at the store… did they…?" Tabitha started to ask, almost afraid of the answer.

"I actually don't know," Darrian responded wistfully. "I killed the Moon Lord, which was the point of the challenge, so I can assume they all made it out alright. But Louise pulled me directly from the aftermath of that final battle, so I never learned how it ended for them."

The pair of them fell silent once again, with Tabitha's mind wandering back over the contents of their conversation. She was surprised to find that it wasn't unpleasant, finally having the chance to open up about even just a small part of her past to someone, and she hoped that giving Darrian the chance to do the same would bring him some amount of peace.

"Thank you," Darrian murmured, as if reading her thoughts. "It's probably nothing compared to what you've been through, so I appreciate you taking the time to listen."

"It isn't a competition," Tabitha countered softly, squeezing his hand gently. "Just because you've been through less, doesn't mean it wasn't terrible. You shouldn't have had to go through that."

"Right…" Darrian sighed, offering Tabitha a gentle smile. "Regardless, it doesn't make the pain go away, but… you made me feel a bit better. You didn't need to do that, or share your own past with me, but you did. And it means a lot."

Tabitha glanced back up at Darrian for a moment, and smiled back. It was a little thing, but it was the first genuine smile she'd worn in a decade.

"We should head back down. It's getting really cold up here."

It was later than Louise would have liked when Darrian finally returned to their room. He closed the door gently behind him, looking rather surprised that she was even still awake, sitting at the edge of her bed with crossed arms and a glare. After a moment of glaring, Louise pulled her blankets up and laid down, holding the fabric up and staring at Darrian expectantly.

For a moment, Darrian stared back with a blank expression, before understanding dawned on him. Pulling his coat off and leaving it hanging from a chair, he laid himself down gently next to Louise, who promptly curled up against his side. It didn't take long for them both to begin drifting off.

"Are you okay?" Louise asked quietly, stifling a yawn momentarily before failing entirely.

"No," Darrian sighed, staring up at the ceiling, smiling gently when Louise draped an arm over his torso. "I will be, though. Maybe not right away, but… I will be."

Louise hummed lightly in response, before drifting off to sleep entirely, with Darrian not that far behind.

More of Darrian's ordeal is revealed, and I'll admit from the start that there's only one word to describe it: contrived.