Vincent!"

Vince glanced behind him, surprised.

"Oh… Duke Mad Thane," he said, attempting to bow to the man before him but finding it difficult to do so because of the full coffee cup in his hand. It brought a smile to Mad Thane's lips.

"If you don't mind, Vincent," he said, "I'd like to speak with you privately."

"Of course," Vince replied, then paused, "Is it about Alex?" Mad Thane was silent for a moment, then said,

"Yes."

"Ah."

They walked in silence until Mad Thane reached his destination and held the door open and they walked in. He motioned for Vince to sit down across from him, which he did. He sighed before saying,

"Alex seems to have been causing us quite a few problems." Vince nodded slowly, and Mad Thane continued,

"With time he could end up causing serious damage, because of his constant squabbles with the Guild. He's caused problems for you before, as well, isn't that right?" Again Vince nodded.

"Not only that," the duke sighed, "But he's also refusing to hand over the cargo… That is blunt disobedience of a quite clear order. That is why…" He sighed and looked Vince in the eye.

"That's why I need you to bring him in, along with the… Cargo. As soon as possible. You will be provided with a ship and its crew to complete the task."

Vince took a sip of his coffee and sighed slowly.

"All right, then," he said, "How's…" He paused. "Will two days from now work?"

"Whatever you need, Vincent."

"All right, then. I'll start preparing immediately."

"Thank you, Vincent."

Morning. Alex's eyes opened slowly, and he tilted his head and gave a little start.

Yuris was sitting on the chair by his desk, and in a rather odd sitting position at that. Her knees were bent so that she was in a sort-of kneeling position on the chair. She seemed to be looking at something on his desk.

He sighed as he remembered the events of the previous day.

"…Yuris…?" Slowly she moved her head to look at him. She was wearing a Silvana uniform, one that Alex had found for her in a storage closet. It was a little big on her, but she didn't seem to care.

"How long have you been awake?" She took her time before answering. She turned her head back to the desk and said softly,

"Not long."

"It must've been a little while, at least, if you're already dressed." She did not reply. He sighed and stood up. She gave a little jerk as he touched her shoulder.

"It's all right," he said, a bit surprised at her reaction. She remained tense, however, until he slowly pulled his hand away.

"…We should probably be going to breakfast now," he said, "Let me change and then we'll go, okay?" Again he didn't receive a reply. He sighed.

She remained motionless, seemingly transfixed with whatever she was looking at, until Alex's voice snapped her out of it,

"All right, let's go." She looked to him, with his hand on the doorknob. Hesitantly she straightened up, then she paused.

"Is something wrong? Do you not want to go?" She was silent for a moment, then replied,

"If you want me to go… I'll go with you…" There was a short silence.

"I won't make you go, Yuris, if you don't want to."

"Do you want me to?"

"Ah…" he seemed somewhat surprised, "Well, I'd like it if you went… You'd be able to get to know everyone."

"Then I'll go," she replied hollowly. He managed a small smile.

"Well, then, we should be going." She nodded slowly and followed.

Alex barely got three steps out the door when all of a sudden a woman's voice reached his ears,

"Captain!" He glanced behind him to see Sophia.

"Captain, I—" she started, then seemed to trail off at seeing Yuris, then continued, "I… I'd like to know who this is—" She gestured towards Yuris, "If… You don't mind." Alex stared long and hard at her, then replied softly,

"Who do you think she is, Sophia?"

"But, Captain… She…" Sophia paused, as if unsure to go on, "She just… Can't be Yuris… Yuris died – in the Grand Stream! Captain!" Again Alex fell silent, although he did cock his head a tiny bit as if trying to get a better look at Sophia.

"Apparently not," he said simply, then turned to go.

"Captain!" she called rather desperately after him, but was replied with silence. Yuris seemed not to notice that Sophia had just claimed she wasn't Yuris – if anything, she seemed more relaxed than Alex had seen her.

"Don't listen to anything she says," he told her softly, just to be sure. She glanced up at him.

"I won't," she replied quietly. He looked away from her gaze.

As he neared the door to the kitchens, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. It was going to be rather difficult to explain everything to everyone.

But then he glanced at Yuris. Her gaze was on the ground, her eyes wider than usual. He felt a pang of anger at himself – he was being stupid, worried about having to introduce her, while poor Yuris was probably terrified of just having to meet all the people.

And, with one final thought in mind – "I must be strong, for her" – fearlessly he pushed the door open.