The night felt like it lasted an eternity. Typically, all his hard work and his same day schedule would have Seto passing out the moment he hit the feather and hay filled mattress. But this night, he had no such luck. He was restless, constantly tossing and turning. The thought of the day he just lived was replaying though his head. Over and over, he could still vividly remember the feeling of the wind on his skin. He couldn't shake the chill of the cold gust across his cheeks. It wasn't that he feared what had happened. It just wasn't natural.

With a heavy sigh, he turned over onto his side. His tired eyes gazed out the window panes to the fields that lined his farm. Crops were sprouting one by one. Buds and roots bloomed with succulent and vibrant foods. Even in the darkness of the nightfall, he knew the harvest was approaching at a rapid pace.

Seto blinked a few times, testing the weight of his eyelids. He was sill so restless. As numbness started to take over his arm, he rolled himself back onto his back, staring at the planks of his wooden ceiling. There was always the familiar chip in the platform above him, leaving a wide enough gap for sunlight to trickle through at day break. It was enough to wake him for his days of work. What most people would consider a poor life of wasting away in labor, Seto smiled knowing that he had the wealth that many would never know.

He alone upheld the beginning of a legacy of farmers in this household. Sure, it was his mother and father who took over this land as the previous owner reached his fragile age, unable to continue fulfilling his duties in his line of work, but Seto still called it a legacy. He's the second generation in the family legacy, and that was a luxury in and of it's own in his eyes.

He had a wooden structure that he could easily modify. Almost everything nearing the imperial city was made of stone. In his mind, he viewed them as trapped, imprisoned in a stone cage yet viewing it as a home. Technically, every one in Atlantis was comparable to that, but here, in his wide open lands nearing the edge… He was as free as any Atlantian could ever truly hope to be.

The thought of that is what he tried to focus on as the night grew later. He tried so hard to bring his mind to peace so that he could finally fall asleep and be well rested so he could begin the day on his same routine—back to normal. Working his fields. Happily in silence. Alone near the edge. Tomorrow, the only thing different would be that his delayed prayer.

A soft sigh, and he smiled into the stillness. He let exhaustion consume him. But as quickly as his consciousness faded, a sliver of light broke through the seems of the boards of his ceiling. Day break. The light hit his eyes.

Back to work.

He sat up quickly, his eyes burning from feeling so dry. A night of no sleep. How could this have kept him up all night? He clasped his face in his left hand. He grit his teeth as he attempted to fight an oncoming headache. He felt a bit unstable, but he pushed himself through it. Toppling out of bed, he prepared himself for a long, drawn out day.

In his washroom, he poured cold buckets of water down his head. He bathed him cold herbs and scrubbed himself down with a honey and beeswax soap he stock piled to make fewer trips out to the farmer's trade market in town.

He dressed in light cotton clothing and wore leather gloves to protect his hands from scraping, cutting, and splintering from his tools and pulling up weeds. He also wore thick leather boots, to protect his feet from dirt and gravel, thorns and sticks, or whatever litters the ground around him.

Before finally setting out of his house, he ate a meal of bread with jam made from the grapes of a neighboring vineyard. Seto would trade his crops and services every so often with the other farmers, or at the prior mentioned trade market so that he could get those few things he wasn't able to grow on his farm. With his bread, he sipped some tea with a blend of herbs, spices, and a thickened milk that he put together himself. Though tired as can be, his meal tasted… extraordinary compared to usual. He used this positivity to encourage himself to find the energy to carry himself through the rest of the day.

With that, he cleaned his dishes and set them aside his new, fresh produce and other items he would take to the shrine later on in attempts to finally get in his prayer. Seto liked to wait for the sun to have a fuller beacon over the land before offering his prayers. As he readied himself out of the house, he contemplated his plans for checking his fields and making time to leave for his offering. Checking for weeds would come first, as well as checking for any bugs and signs of critters.

And he did just that, carrying on his back a barrel shaped pack that he could discard any undesirables into. As he went along each row of crops, he kicked away rock out of his tills where he'd pour water on later. He plucked away dead leaves and broken branches, throwing them into his pack. The more he did, the more sluggish he felt. He found himself stopping more often than he typically would to wipe his brow and catch his breath.

When he finished the first of his rounds, he stumbled to a sit beside one of the pillars he had erected along his pathway that leads our to the main road. The pillars he had place each held a lantern, which burned off oil he also traded for. As he sat, he took off he barrel pack setting it next to him before lying on his back. He propped himself up with his hands behind his head. Slowly, he shut his eyes, relaxing for the first time since yesterday.

"Just a small break..." he breathes heavily as he allows his mind to drift.

But this was a mistake for him. By the time he opened his eyes again, the sun was high in the sky. Half of his day was gone. It took a moment for the time lapse to sink in, causing his heart to race before he picked himself off the ground. He then trotted quickly inside, leaving everything else discarded on the ground where he lied. Inside, he removed his gloves and stripped himself of his workers garments. He changed into nicer clothes, sewn in the city and was shipped out to the market during a festival. It was one of his favorite shirt, a nice white lined with a golden design. He wore it with a short cape, a deep indigo with a golden design that matched white shirt. He tied around his waist a rope belt, just as an accent more or less. His pants were black, knickerbocker style, tightening just below his knees so that if he wore longer boots, they would easily fit beneath them. But the style of shoes he wore were simple sandals, weaved in the market city outside the imperial walls.

He tied the longer parts of his bangs, draping it over his shoulder before gathering everything thing once more for his offering. He double checked everything before setting out, still unhappy with how easily he lost track of so much time. His day was in complete disorder, leaving his mind a chaotic mess.

"I'll water everything when I get back," he tried to plan everything aloud to help remember everything else that he still had to do. "I'll get a small lunch prepared—something small since I should have been eating now. Maybe I'll fast until dinner. I could just prepare a pot, leave it simmer over the fire to stew while I finish my rounds and till the soil for the new plots for next season."

He kept putting off his prep work for the next season's harvests. He was so worked up with the approaching harvest festival season that it clouded everything else. This was the season where the crops where chosen for the royal family. They paid high prices, which helped towards growing more and more crops for the coming years. For years now, Seto's produce had been picked over and over. Even by himself, he was able to grow such high valued food. While he had planned on starting tilling for the new plot the day before, he was blind sided by his brother's surprise return. It's not like actually detoured the amount of time that he had, which was still plentiful before the next season. It was just… a distraction.

And if this kept up, Seto feared he would end up behind. "I guess I can till tomorrow. I can go to bed after dinner and make up for my lost sleep..."

He took a calming breath, picking up the items required for his prayer and finally setting out. He headed out in the direction of the shrine, following the path out to the main road. He walked the edge of the road, treading through the hills and admiring the views as he counted the number of larger fish that would cast their distorted shadows across his walkway.

It wasn't long before the surprise of him humming stole all of his attention. His pace slowed as he recalled the melody. He knew this, but it was unfamiliar to him. Where had he heard this tune?

"Ah, right..." He thought aloud. "The woman at the shrine..."

How easily he remembered her song, as if he knew it word for word. Normally, Seto wasn't a fan of music. Something about that tune though—it stuck with him. Even if it was a completely foreign language to him, it struck a chord and took hold tightly to his subconscious.

"Damn dragon bloods…." He was being dramatic. "What's with that strong presence anyway?"

And as if on queue, something caught his eye as he neared the top of the hill he climbed. Something was glistening off in the distance, the reflection of the sunlight bouncing off whatever it may be. As he continued to hum, he still walked the bath towards the shrine, but couldn't take his attention off the glistening object.

Sure enough the beams were hitting off of a bracelet, worn on her right wrist by a cloaked woman. The very same woman from the day before, whom bore such a beautiful prayer and was denied by the southern dragon all the same. Unlike the time he had seen her at the shrine, she was wearing much more casual clothes beneath her cloak. No longer silk robes, but still a beautiful dressed, lined with silver jewelry and laced down her sides from beneath his breast to the tips of her hips. The trim of the ends of her dress were unlike anything he had ever seen, creating a style he couldn't hope to describe. The sky blue color complimented her though, and the clock she wore was a shimmery, see through darker blue, making it so he could see the deep cut in the back of her dress, laced with chains crossing across the cut.

As much as he detested the dragons, he couldn't help but be enchanted by her beauty. Even from afar, she stood out among the scenery and he couldn't look away. The woman stood at the edge, where the path met the dome. The way she stared at it was as if she had been studying it for the first time in her life. Like she had never been this close to the edge.

Seto watched as hesitantly, she rose her right hand and placed it against the dome's service.

His heart sank, as he sped his pace. "H—Hey! Don't do that!"

He found himself rushing to her as she was taken off her guard. She jumped in place and turned quickly to face him, though never removing her hand from the dome itself. It was at that instance that her hand was suddenly sucked through the edge, as if phasing though a giant bubble.

Her attention snapped back to the dome as it seemed to try to pull her forward with a greater force, "What the—"

Seto dropped everything that he had been carrying, now in a full sprint to her. By the time her whole arm had been forced out all the way up to her shoulder, Seto had finally reached her. Quickly, he was at her side and reached his own hand through the edge. Not waiting it to soften to his touch, it felt like he was punching through a wall of glass, cutting the knuckles of his right hand before he firmly and tightly grabbed hold of her arm, just below the bend of her elbow. After taking hold, he wrapped his left arm around her waist, and pulled the two of them backwards with all his might.

With a quick tug, he was able to free their arms, throwing the two of them back onto the ground. He felt the pain of hitting his tail bone race up through his spine and all the way to his teeth, while he was steadily able to catch the woman against him. He closed his eyes tightly as he took in a few deep breaths before he loosened his grip on her arm and waist. After a moment, the woman climbed off his lap and to his side. She held her now bare wrist, while staring at Seto with concern. When he opened his eyes, he was met with her gaze once more.

He huffed, trying to regain composure. "It may feel like glass, but those of dragon's blood can bleed through the dome like a force field… It's used as a means of traveling quickly to other parts of the city outside the imperial walls by using the currents. Didn't anyone teach you that when you were a kid?!"

The girl pulled herself back a bit, her eyes offsetting their stare with those distasteful white pupils surrounded by icy blue hues. She looked away even more before stammering finally, "Is… is that common knowledge around here?

Her voice was shaky. He was sure that all of her was still trying to comprehend what just happened and level back to a calm, just as he was trying to do. It was much more refreshing to speak with her like this, instead of feeling the intimidation that he felt at their first meeting.

"You mean to tell me it's not common everywhere?" Seto rolled his eyes, not feeling the lack of control he had prior to their first conversation. He looked over his shoulder, cursing as he realized that he just ruined everything that he had prepared for his offering. "Shit..."

As he stood and dusted himself off, the woman just noticed the scattered about items and produce along the ground just feet away from the two. With a sigh, Seto turned back to the vexing woman, who was causing him nothing but trouble at this point. She may have out done him with her offering, but she was surely becoming nothing more than a nuisance to him. He stared at her for a moment, while she could only look at the mess that she had caused.

Holding a stern stance, he offered out his hand to assist her. "Sorry I grabbed you like that… This isn't one of the designated spots for entering a current for travel. It's a rough patch and would likely have swallowed you out too far from the limits. Likely, you would have drowned after losing consciousness from the shock..."

She snapped back to reality, turning and looking back up at his eyes before tracing his arm with her gaze, all the way down to his hand. "I—I see… Thank you."

Hesitantly, she reached forward. As their hands clasped, Seto caught a glimpse of her arm, reddened with his hand print and turning purple where his fingertips had begun to dig too deep into her pale white skin. His eyes narrowed, unaware of his own brutal strength. Though a carrier of dragon's blood… She was still a frail girl, something Seto had originally pushed out of his mind.

"Let me get you some ice." He pulled her to a stand, "I don't want you to bruise more than you already have."

But she seemed to ignore him, turning her attention back to the edge. He couldn't begin to imagine what was going through her head. As she fiddled her fingers around her wrist, Seto only then noticing the lack of the bracelet that had originally drawn his attention to her. She must be concerned about the loss of it.

"Do you want to walk with me, or wait here?" Seto called to her again.

But she refused to look at him. "Do you think it will be found by the people outside the ocean?"

The question took him by surprise, as it was something he hadn't considered. "Does the thought of that scare you?"

Her gaze fell to the ground, clearly showing that was the case here. Everyone here followed strict rules when it came to the history of the outside world. No one from outside Atlantis would ever be allowed to enter this world, just as it was forbidden for any Atlantian to leave the boarders that the king had created, limiting even how far outside the dome anyone could travel. Everyone born here would never be able to see the world above the sea. No one would ever know this place existed, however, just finding Atlantis would be an even greater feat, since it's been thousands of years since the kingdom used to breathe the air of the surface world. With the king's hopes, the history of Atlantis should be long forgotten, and sunk with the city itself.

"Everyone out there is too far off to even discover a bracelet that will most likely sink to the ocean floor..." He tried to reassure her. "And even if they did, they wouldn't know it came from an Atlantian. No one out there knows of our existence."

It was haunting, how he nearly recited the exact words of advice he received from his mother years and years ago. A memory that was buried within him of when he lost a toy in the same manner as a child was brought to mind. He groaned remembering it.

Though the advice was meant to comfort her, the woman only frowned. "I see..."

Seto couldn't hope to understand her. "Will you come with me? Or will you stay here and wallow it over?"

Her eyes suddenly widened, as she turned and looked at him intensely. "What?"

"For the ice?" Their eyes met, their gaze locked.

"Oh. That..." She wouldn't look away, though she blinked a few times to escape the trance. "No, that's alright. I don't to cause you any more burden."

His expression fell. "It'll plague me more, knowing that I hurt you and did nothing about it."

She slowly looked down at her arm, moving her hand up from her wrist to the spot where his hand had left its mark. "Sir, you saved me from a vortex just now. You've hardly done anything to hurt me. In fact, I should be indebted to you."

One of her braids fell from behind her ear, and she pushed it back as she looked back to Seto. She seemed so serious about that, but Seto only became flushed at the silly request. "Then just let me tend to your wound, and the debt will be paid. Then I can get back on track with my day."

She stood her ground as she again looked back at him. "If that's what it would take, than I will do as you wish."

He couldn't figure out what was causing these sudden knots in his stomach, but he was glad that she agreed to allow him to help. "One more thing. My name is Seto. No need to call me 'sir.' I'm just a farmer. I don't deserve that title."

"Seto." She repeated it to herself to remember it. "It's nice to formally get your name."

"And what shall I call you?" He scratched the back of his head as he averted his eyes from her gaze.

A gentle smile lit on her face. "Kisara. My name is Kisara."