Kane searched in the pockets of his coat as he stood in the middle of a large room. The sunlight from a nearby window warmed the upper half of his body. He would describe the smell a mixture of chlorine and dust, which was attributed by the pool to his right and the high ceiling above his head. It reminded him of the indoor swimming rooms King Casimir had in his castle - except this one was less intricate in the finer details, and he willingly brought his presence here.

Aristide watched as the Supreme Commander surfaced a small bag of gold. It was brought into the other man's hand and carried away into a locker. Kane's eyes watched his figure walk about the room - contemplating how long it has been since he left his fortress. If all went well, he planned to be away for the rest of the day. He finished up his work that morning. So much effort made to afford himself half a day's worth of time...

There was a light chuckle as Aristide returned. "Grazie, Commander. I can't believe it's already been a month since I started teaching your cadet! The time flies by so fast..."

"And how is she doing? Making great progress, as I expect..?"

"Absolutely! She's in the water more now. We are working to the deeper parts...but she moves freely. It is a beautiful improvement to see."

His eyes scanned the large pool across from them. It was a remarkable point for Valerie, and he was proud, to say the least. He checked in with her after her lessons...but there came a point where he needed to hear from another perspective. His consultation with Aristide was for the upcoming monthly payment and a check-in on her progress. He was invested in how she was doing.

How surprising that was - a month staying in Florenza purely for a woman he was interested in. Granted, he was involved in her temporary living quarters and training to proceed with her career - but he found more reasons to stay the longer he spent with her. It felt too soon to leave where she was now. He knew he'd want to come back. Any excuse - and he'd take it. That was why Kane worked nonstop every morning; to stay on track with the dutiful responsibilities he'd been neglecting.

Time really has flown by...

"-She is beautiful, you know." Aristide's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I say that off the record. It's a pleasure working with a woman with such vigor."

"I assume you say that for most of your clients..?"

He laughed. "You must know me too well. I digress. I teach much younger students, but there's a charm meeting someone older that's willing to learn. She's not far from either of us, is she?"

"I'm aware."

"Valerie talks to me about you. It makes me wonder how long you've been in Florenza." Kane looked away. "You are mostly in Cadiz from what I hear. Wherever his majesty resides."

"It isn't any of your business."

"Just a speculation." He waved it off. "She doesn't call you 'Supreme Commander' anymore. She calls you Kane."

He crossed his arms, growing impatient with this conversation. He wondered why he became so heated with that last point - he was normally patient when being pressed. "-I asked her to."

They were making eye contact. Kane kept his stare straight as he attempted to show his annoyance. Aristide's eyes glanced down before he chuckled to himself. The point was made. The instructor turned and carefully brought his fingers along the stems of potted plants nearby. The silence brought a moment of tension with how long it lasted. Eventually, it was interrupted by the lighter voice:

"What do you intend on having with her...?"

His eyes widened behind his mask's sockets. He repeated, "My intentions?"

"Please, do not mind me asking. I only want to know because I think we might share the same interest." He faced him. "I wouldn't want things to be awkward if we are searching for the same thing. And you know I respect you greatly."

"Are you telling me you have interest in courting Valerie?"

"I understand such a thing may be unprofessional, but I would keep it outside of my hours. I know how stern you are with treating my clients with the upmost respect and space-"

Kane knew where this was going. He unfolded his arms and dropped them to his sides, watching the other man tend to the plants. He didn't owe Aristide any bit of his personal affairs. While they were close acquaintances, he wanted to keep their relationship professional. He wasn't sure why he even mentioned this - or how he had the audacity to ask such a thing. Valerie was an adult woman. She could make decisions for herself. He didn't want to share any concern in that.

"What you plan on doing isn't any of my business. So long as you respect her, I won't have to be involved."

"Ah. So you weren't planning on asking her yourself..." His coat tightened as those words left his lips. "-That's a relief. I was thinking you two were so close..."

"Are we done here?"

"Hm? Oh, yes! Thank you, again. There is one thing I wanted to ask...Seeing as it's been some time since she started, would you want to watch Valerie's lesson today? She would not mind if you joined."

He mused it over for a few seconds. He planned to spend this last hour speaking with his spymaster, but he figured Deacon could be patient. He gave a simple nod to the man, who motioned for him to get comfortable. It wouldn't be that long before she came. Kane desperately hoped they wouldn't make small talk. He was fortunate as Aristide left him alone, getting the pool prepared while the Supreme Commander sat at a table.

When his back was turned, Kane moved a gloved hand to his wrist and felt under the folds of his coat. Feeling the indentations of a circular device, he pressed his forefinger on a button and listened to the quiet beep it emitted. After a few seconds, there came the awaiting sound of static - obliging him to lower his head and speak quietly:

"Dovremo parlare domani."

There was a small sound of shuffling. A voice replied, "Alright."

He pressed another button, ceasing the receiver. Aristide glanced up in time to make eye contact with him again, and they both looked away simultaneously. They heard the doors open. Their heads turned to find Valerie Toscani walking inside.


She was expecting to meet with Aristide, which was why she didn't notice the extra pair of eyes when she walked in. She greeted her instructor and shared a handshake and a smile. He patted her back as she dropped her things. She found a figure dressed in black and gold from head-to-toe patiently sitting at one of the tables, which caught her attention.

"Kane!" The name escaped her lips. "I didn't see you there..."

He dipped his head, but he didn't need more than that. She was just about to approach him before Aristide stepped in front of her.

"The Supreme Commander is here to watch your lesson today. I thought he could see how well you've been doing." He motioned her away. "Let's get started!"

She didn't want to prepare so soon, but caved in and retreated to the locker room to put on her swimsuit. It felt tighter than usual. She could feel Kane's stare when she returned. She realized why she felt so different - this was the most bare he saw her. Her uniform used to cover everything...

Her instructor began their lesson from there. He acted as if the Supreme Commander wasn't less than a couple feet away observing them, proceeding like normal. She wanted to do everything well and not embarrass herself under his supervision again. She didn't have to worry - as everything went smoothly, ignoring a few imperfections here-and-there.

Every so often, her brown eyes looked to Kane and found him watching her. Other times, he'd have his gaze focused on something on the table. Or was it his arm? It was hard to tell from how far she was...

"Oh!"

She jumped when she felt Aristide's hands grip her sides. She whipped her head around and he smiled apologetically. "-You were turning into the deeper end, cara...I am just watching out for you."

"I see." She relaxed.

She noticed him hesitating to remove his hands. That was a reoccurring thing - his touch finding its way to her somehow. If they were without contact, he pressed close against her. It was likely for safety reasons and this wasn't the first time it happened. In fact, such closeness was regularly apart of her lessons. He was acting as her flotation device more than anything - but in front of the Supreme Commander, it felt...indecent.

She felt uncomfortable and removed herself from him. He looked surprised, but applauded her regardless. "Wonderful job! You're moving so freely..."

She found her eyes darting in Kane's direction. She did this a lot - wanting to see his reactions. He didn't have much of one this time. Aristide looked at her strangely.

"You seem distracted..."

She acted surprised. "Am I?"

"We can pick this up another time. I wouldn't want you at less than your full potential with the Supreme Commander around."

"If you say so..."

He assisted her out of the pool feeling defeated. He watched as she dried herself with a towel; a habit he had after their lessons. His eyes wandered over to Kane, who was also observing the sight. He tore his eyes away when she had to lean over, and that was when Aristide felt peculiar. He watched her skip over to the other man, noting the small smile that grew on the Commander's lips while she did so.

'Perhaps he hadn't been so truthful with me...'


The first thing she wanted to do was get out the chess game again. She practiced all morning, reading tips and trying for herself. She found an appeal to this game the longer she practiced. She was feeling better about the results, this time around.

"You wouldn't mind if we played again, would you?" She asked Kane. He shook his head.

"Not at all. You're asking me to play my favorite game."

She smiled and took a seat once the pieces were arranged. This time, she was playing as black and Kane as white. He motioned to make her move first. She moved one of her pawns before hearing a beeping sound. She looked around the room in confusion. After it quieted down, she shrugged it off and continued to play. They were well into the game this time around - her movements were slower, but that's because she was watching Kane's turns attentively.

He was the one to break the silence.

"Does your instructor normally get that close to you..?"

"Aristide?" She moved her bishop along. "He's just making sure I don't go any deeper than I am comfortable with."

"Even when he was holding your sides in the shallow end?"

Valerie frowned. He was a little more touchy-feely today than before. She had no clue why that was. It felt a little embarrassing having that happen in front of him. But why would he bring it up? Had their contact been so obvious? She didn't mean anything by it - she was just comfortable not feeling entirely alone in the water.

"It's professional. It happens often."

"Hmm."

He captured her rook. She was distracted by the move and had to recalculate her strategy. She could hear that beeping noise again - it was relatively quiet, but took more time to go away now. She shook her head at the distraction and moved her knight. Even Kane appeared to be unsettled by the noise - taking longer than usual to make his move.

"Are you-"

BEEP!

The sound was loud this time. The Supreme Commander sat down his chess piece in irritation. He folded up his sleeve and she noticed the device on his left wrist. It looked complex and had various buttons on it - dark gray in color with red and green buttons flashing. There was something in the middle that looked like a camera. She realized it was the source of the noise. Kane tinkered with it for a moment.

"Sorry. The damned thing has been going off this past hour-"

He pressed a button and it ceased the beeping. She leaned forward and looked at it in interest.

"What is it?"

"A communication device. My son invented it."

"You have a son..?"

He was too preoccupied to address her question. He untied it from his wrist and laid it down on the table, opening the back panel with his finger. She saw the minuscule wires prodding out from the opening. He leaned forward to inspect them, grabbing a tiny pair of pliers from one of his pockets. He fiddled around with the wires until the small device was brought back to life. The screen on it flashed for a moment, then the blinking lights went away.

"Amazing..."

Completely forgetting about their game at hand, she grew invested with this small device. Kane didn't give her a long time to look at it. He tied it back on his wrist. She huffed as he covered it with his sleeve. He finished his move - sliding his rook where he wanted it. She felt too distracted to play anymore. She motioned to his covered wrist.

"What does that do? Does it let you talk to other people?"

He motioned to the board. "Make your move, and I will tell you."

She did as was told, half-assing a slight movement of her last pawn. Kane looked at her dully as he captured it.

"It's so I can communicate with my elite. I can speak to them through the device. It makes distance no issue."

She wasn't aware of the pieces he was capturing. She was curious about the devices she'd seen around Valencia - neat gadgets owned by the upper classes. She loved their designs. Most of them were composed of gears and made in a way where they could rotate smoothly. The idea of clockwork was appealing to her. It hadn't occurred to her Kane would've been the one behind all of these engineering choices.

She allowed the game to end shortly after, making moves where they could easily progress. When she was put in check, she tried to make it seem like losing wasn't her objective all along...but as he took her king away, she could see the disappointment in his eyes. She had been aiming for a better game, but her thoughts turned elsewhere...

"That was a good game. I'm going to need a lot of practice if I want to beat you."

He didn't say a thing as he cleared the playing field. She helped him clean up the game and return it into its rightful box. After that was done, she offered him a drink in hopes of getting him to stay. To her surprise, he accepted. She gathered them some refreshments and set up the table and chairs on her porch outside. So they could sit together and gaze at Florenza as they relaxed, hoping the view would keep him longer this time around...


Kane felt there was a lot on his mind, which was why he was thankful he was offered to stay. He hoped watching Valerie's lesson would ease him, but his damned device started malfunctioning. He tried to fix it while not taking his attention off of her, but that made him distracted. Not to mention he had to watch Aristide get so close and personal with her every time he looked, and that made him want to focus on fixing the small communicator instead.

He hoped it wouldn't interrupt their game, but it did. He'll have to notify Bishop about this defect as soon as he can.

The Supreme Commander sat himself to the left of the table outside, which gave him the view of the ocean. He listened to the birds chirping and the commotion beneath him. They were perched just before a large garden with a small marketplace to the right. He glanced down and watched the people walking below. Beyond these sights were roofs of nearby complexes and houses, nothing too inherently interesting to gaze at for long.

He brought his attention back to the table and found Valerie sitting across from him. She set down her drink and flattened her dress as a breeze passed by. His eyes curiously came down and reminded him how she looked back at her lesson - seeing her exposed legs and thighs, her arms and collarbone...He'd confess to staring at times, admiring the way her body moved. Recalling how the water trickled down from her body; the way she surfaced, gasping for air...it made him shuffle in his seat.

"Let me take a guess here..." Her voice tore him from his thoughts. She leaned on the table coyly. "-And say that you seem good with machinery?"

"You'd be right."

"So, what? Are you an inventor?"

"I am a lot of things. I've made devices for the King, I execute improvements for my army's weapons...and I like to design, build, and maintain personal projects of mine."

"So, you're smart! I think we established that already."

He chuckled, to her surprise. "Then tell me, what are you good at?"

"Me?" She repeated. "Well, before I moved to start my training, I liked to critique art. I used to go to museums and visit shops to collect beautiful paintings."

"Is that right?"

She nodded, remembering the paintings hanging in her room, waiting for her eventual return. She didn't realize how much she missed that hobby until now - gathering beautiful arts and crafts to decorate her space. She glanced into the barren walls of her apartment, realizing that's something she had been missing. Kane noticed this and cleared his throat to get her attention again.

Leaning forward, he told her, "I am also an artist."

"Are you? I think at this point, you're willing to tell me you're anything."

"But it's true. I helped paint my father's toys when I was younger, and went into portraits shortly afterwards. Now I paint landscapes and beautiful scenery - his majesty has my works on the walls of his castle."

Her jaw fell open. What could she say to this? "-Really? Would you mind sharing your work with me someday?"

"I would be glad to hear your opinion."

She dipped her head and waited a few moments before scooting her chair closer to his. He didn't stir. She decided to take it the entire way and placed it right next to his. Kane shifted at their closeness, but allowed her to lean towards him.

"Would you mind telling me the other things you do? What talents and surprises you have waiting for me..."

He was more than happy to enlighten her on his interests with clockwork, mathematics, languages, and clothing design. Even though his interests sounded boring on the surface, the way he talked about them made her think twice. He went into detail naming her all the languages he could speak and ones he was still learning. Then he talked about how he was taught to make and repair clocks when he was a child, and found interest in how they worked. When he spoke about his minor interest in fashion and designing armor for his soldiers, Valerie found herself sharing most of his opinions.

At one point, he told her he left Valencia to pursue engineering and become fluent in other languages. He attended great schools in Marleybone to accomplish this. She asked if that's where his accent came from. He confirmed her suspicions, and she soaked in this knowledge of him.

Every now and then he would ask something of her - and she'd come up short. Her life was nowhere near as interesting as his; she lacked his talents and capabilities. He must have found enough charm in her to ask further of her interests, which happened to be art, fashion, and her slight enthusiasm in theater. The last one came as a surprise to Kane, but he still listened to her talk about the plays she'd seen. She was surprised to learn he shared interest as well.


They only noticed the time when it got colder out. Evening fell upon them in a few hours. Valerie was the one affected by this - shivering when a draft came by. She had to excuse herself to put a coat on, and while she was at it, brewed them a couple cups of coffee. When she returned, she found the beautiful sight of the shops and homes below turning on their lights. The sky above them was clear and filled with endless amounts of stars. She was breathless when she took her seat next to him.

"The nights are beautiful here," She told him.

He took a sip of his coffee and looked for himself. "They are."

She breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the warmth from her coat and the presence next to her. She smiled at Kane while his head was turned. She craved to have someone else here to share something like this with...after weeks of looking at these sights alone, retreating to her solitude every time he had to leave...but now he stayed. Sharing this with him was just as lovely as she imagined it to be. She clinked their cups of coffee together and tittered when she saw the confused look on his face.

"It's nice having you this long. Usually you would leave after a few hours."

"I made an exception. You wished yesterday was longer, so I extended my stay today."

Her eyes appeared to glow. "So, if I asked you to stay the night simply because I wanted you to...would you?"

He laughed. How charming. "That depends how nicely you'd ask."

They locked eyes with one another, and things went quiet. When the peaceful noise of the streets, crickets, and distant splashes of the ocean replaced their conversation, they were left staring at each other. Kane remembered how beautiful he saw her today - during her lesson, and even now, watching her cling onto a small coat wearing a golden dress underneath. As for her - all she had to do was stare at his masked eyes a little longer to get that craving again.

She brought her hand onto his arm, resting her side against his shoulder. The contact warmed him. He watched as her hands found their way to his glove. He felt her squeeze his hand. He marveled at how small her fingers were and carefully gripped back. A noise emerged from her throat. She took the liberty to rest her head on his side. They remained like this for several minutes - no words exchanged, listening to the noises of nature and holding each other.

. . .

Eventually, this was interrupted by a knock on the door. They glanced up in surprise, their contact broken right away. Kane turned to her and asked, "Were you expecting someone?"

"Not that I know of."

Getting up from her seat, she felt hot and folded down her dress. She went to the door and held a hand over the knob. She checked through the peephole to see this unexpected visitor. She was surprised to find a mask on the other side - a completely white bauta, the wearer covering his head with a dark blue sheet held by two buttons on the sides. He was wearing a hat with a golden trim, a black cape that covered the rest of his body. He was standing still, shifting his weight to the other foot as his blue eyes wandered around the door.

"Kane? Do you know anyone who wears...ah...a bauta mask and a cape?"

She could hear the Supreme Commander shuffle from his seat and come into the apartment. He ushered her to the side and checked for himself, a hum escaping his lips as he recognized the figure.

"Yes...let him in for a moment."

He stepped out of view. She unlocked the door and twisted the knob until it figure was revealed in the doorway. He was shorter than both of them, but only by a few inches' worth. The cape still covered a good portion of his stature, but now she could see two layers of coats - his first layer the same shade of dark blue, and the one underneath a black with a golden trim. He was currently holding a cane in his right hand, his left held behind his back and out of her view.

He spoke, "Buona sera. Is this the residence of Valerie Toscani?"

"Yes, that is me. Who are you?"

Before he had the chance to reply, Kane stepped between them. "-Valerie, this is my spymaster and emissary, Deacon."

He brought his attention to the shorter man and quietly asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I had a feeling you were here. I tried to contact you, but...well, I'm sure you know the communicators are busted."

He rolled down his right sleeve and revealed the same device Kane had on his left wrist. She looked between the two several times, unsure of what to say. The Commander muttered a few swears under his breath. Deacon rolled his sleeve back up and moved his free hand onto his cane, leaning on it so he could tell him quietly:

"Kane, I need to talk to you."