Mae sat on the edge of her bed with a hand tangled tight in the roots of her hair. She was hunched over and staring down at a map in her lap. Even though she had the layout and routes of it memorized, she felt the need to re-examine the island one more time. In the back of her mind, she held onto the slightest hope that this island was the one that she had been searching for.

But in the end she knew that it wasn't what she was looking for.

With a ragged breath, she crumpled the map up in her hand and bitterly tossed it aside. Grabbing at the sides of her head in frustration, she bent down and buried her head between her legs. Then she let out a defeated scream. It wasn't an extremely loud scream, but it was loud enough to release some of the tension that she had built up.

After two more lengthy screams, she collapsed back against the bed. Blowing strands of hair off her face, she turned her head and looked towards the only picture that she had tacked to her bedroom wall.

It was a picture of her when she was seventeen. She looked like she'd just walked out of a war. Her brunette hair was knotted and tangled and she had blood and dirt covering her from head to toe. It wasn't the prettiest picture of her. The only reason she kept it was for the small child that she had bundled in her arms.

Busy with her own thoughts, she didn't pay mind to Bitsy who was now standing in the doorway.

"It's a good picture of you two."

Mae smiled, her eyes lingering on the photo. "It is, isn't it?"

Bitsy leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. "You were so proud of yourself that day. It was the first time I had seen you smile in years."

Not a fan of sentimental talk when she was sober, Mae blinked her eyes to Bitsy and changed the subject. "Did you need something?"

"There's a plate of food for you in the fridge," she said. Straightening up, she tucked her hands into her pockets and looked around the room. "I was going to see if you wanted me to bring it up."

"I'll fetch it myself."

Bitsy casually looked over her shoulder and then back at Mae. "I don't mind bringing it up. You've had a long trip."

Mae's eyes trailed back to the picture. "No, that's okay."

Bitsy followed her gaze. "Are you sure?"

"You know that I hate eating in my room."

"I know, but-"

"Is there any specific reason why you don't want me to go downstairs?"

Tensing up, Bitsy looked back at Mae. She was now staring at her. "A specific reason? Why would you say that?"

Standing up from the bed, Mae brushed a lazy hand over the sheets. "You've never offered to bring me food before."

"Can't an old woman be nice for a change?"

Inhaling a breath through her nose, Mae stretched her arms high and yawned. "I suppose," she said, her arms dropping back down to her sides, "but then again, you hate it when food is taken out of the dining room or the kitchen."

"Can't an old woman change her habits?"

"You're not someone who'd easily change their habits," Mae replied. She knew Bitsy well. And if there was one thing she knew most about her, it was the fact that she hated it when Viske or Jessabel took food to their rooms.

Bitsy laughed, but she didn't say anything. Mae was right. She had habits that she wouldn't change-not for a single person.

Walking over to her closet, Mae swung the door open and pushed around a few outfits. "Now if you had offered to bring a drink," she began, tossing clothes onto the bed, "then I wouldn't have been suspicious."

"A drink?"

"It's been six months since I've had one. A drink is long over due."

Bitsy mentally scolded herself. Of course it would have been smarter to offer Mae a drink. That would have made more sense. She loved liquor almost as much as she loved Viske.

"So," Mae closed the closet and faced Bitsy, "how about that drink?"

"You're right, a drink is long over due. How about we share one together and you can tell me about your mission?"

"If you want to know what happened, then go read my report. There's a copy in the office."

"I want to know the details that you didn't include."

"I include every minute of my time in the reports," Mae said, moving over to the bed and picking up her clean clothes. "I don't leave out details."

"Mae," Bitsy shook her head, "I may be old, but I'm not stupid."

Mae smirked, but she avoided the subject. "So, how about that drink? I'd like to relax in the bath with a bottle of our finest liquor."

"By finest, you mean cheapest?"

"Whatever we have," Mae said. "I'm going to enjoy my drink and then I am going to go downstairs and see what it is you're trying to hide from me."

"Hide from you?" Bitsy waved a dismissing hand. "I'm not hiding a thing. Jessabel is just in a mood today. I figured you'd prefer to stay up here than deal with her."

Mae laughed under her breath. "I can handle my own."

"But Jessabel can't."

"So you're not trying to keep me up here for my own sake, but for Jessabel's?"

"You nearly give that poor woman a heart attack every time you talk to her."

Mae scoffed. "She's anything but poor."

"All right," Bitsy held up a hand, "all right. I need you two to get along for once. We're on the same team."

Moving across the room, Mae brushed passed her and walked into the hallway. "I'm not going to get on that subject."

Bitsy sighed and took one last look at the photo on the wall before closing the door behind them. "I figured as much."

Waving a hand over her shoulder, Mae started down the hall. "I'm going to take my bath now."

Bitsy nodded. "Give my a few minutes and I'll bring you that drink," she said, walking in the opposite direction.

Before Bitsy could disappear around a corner, Mae stopped walking and looked over her shoulder. "Oh, and Bitsy," a smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth, "I'm going to eventually find out what you're hiding from me."