Chapter 67

Honestly, Melyssa didn't know what the right thing to do was. She was conflicted because it seemed the Grandmaster and most of the Enforcers/Anguis did legitimately trust her. Whereas the people she had only spent a short amount of time with didn't. Did she trust them in return? Melyssa couldn't answer that question and it troubled her. Maybe it would be best to just stick with Ouroboros since she knew them far more and better than Class VII.

Stopping her car, Melyssa stared straight ahead out of the windshield and shut her eyes tightly, gripping the steering wheel tightly in her hands. What was the right decision? What was the best thing for her to do? It seemed the Grandmaster already surmised she was playing both sides, but the woman hadn't condemned her for it either. Maybe she wanted to show Melyssa who her TRUE friends and family were the hard way.

"You know, the Grandmaster took you in and cared for you like one of her own." Mariabell had appeared in the passenger seat of Melyssa's car, a soft smile on her face. "And we haven't treated you THAT badly, I don't think. We're not as bad as people claim we are. We're just…powerful and CAN be bad if the situation calls for it."

"Why was I chosen, Mariabell? I've asked this question so many times and I've never gotten a clear answer." Melyssa looked over at one of her trainers and…friends. Was Mariabell a friend of hers? "I was isolated and couldn't see the light of day or the starry night sky for two years straight."

"Because you were in training. That's how it was for me too. And I'll tell you something, I LOATHED the Grandmaster for it for the longest time. But eventually, I opened my eyes and realized it was all done for my own good, to make sure I fulfilled my training as an Enforcer. And then, I was bumped to an Anguis shortly after that." Mariabell had no reason to lie to her or keep anything from her. "As far as why you were chosen, I don't know. I really don't know why I was chosen either besides my magical abilities. With you…it has to do with that orange aura you have whenever you power up. Maybe that's the 'spirit' McBurn was talking about when he referred you to the Grandmaster. And you have to admit, your skills as a swordsman have improved exponentially since you joined us. Can you honestly tell me Rean Schwarzer would've given you that kind of training, that kind of dedication?"

Melyssa frowned, lowering her eyes. "No." It was the truth. Rean had sparred with her, sure, but she hadn't been with Class VII that long before Gehenna broke loose. "I just don't want them to get hurt. They don't trust me and that's fine, but…I still want to protect them for some reason."

"So do it. You're an Enforcer now. You can do whatever you want and make your own rules…as long as it doesn't interfere with the Grandmaster."

Now Melyssa was confused. "But I thought I had to be a spy in the mayor's office?"

Mariabell shrugged with a smirk. "That was a test to see where your loyalties truly lie. And we're pleased to see that you came to us and told us what was going on. So now, the Grandmaster has informed me you can do whatever you want and…" She reached over to pull the mask away from Melyssa's face. "You don't need these anymore since Class VII knows who you really are now."

"I-I don't?"

"Nope, and you can go back to being Melyssa Brackett instead of Lysa Reynolds. The world is your oyster, my dear."

"Why do I feel like this is a trap?"

Mariabell shrugged, a purple glow outlining her frame. "Maybe it is…maybe it isn't." Then, she was gone.

What in Gehenna just happened?

"McBurn is in Jurai, riling up the nobility again." Machias was saying to Crow and Ash when Melyssa showed up for work, nodding once at her. "We knew he had been sent there, but… what is the point?" Seriously, why was it such a bad thing that the commoners and poor got a leg up? "I wish we could abolish nobility and be done with it." He muttered under his breath, then flinched. Melyssa's family had been nobility once and then stripped of it and their names stricken from the record. He still didn't fully know or understand the circumstances behind it.

"That's not surprising considering that's where the Grandmaster sent him. I wonder what the endgame is, though." Melyssa walked over and slapped a brand new application on top of Machias' desk, making him look up at her. Her UNMASKED face. "Lysa Reynolds is no longer your employee and has left the building permanently, so if you want to hire ME and keep up my training, the name is Melyssa Brackett from now on. And don't worry, the Grandmaster already knows and is the one who gave her approval for me to stop wearing those hideous things since I told her what was going on. Just like you wanted me too, Mr. Mayor." She winked, feeling happier than she had in a long time because now she no longer had to pretend to be someone else. She could be HERSELF, mostly. "I'm starting to wonder if you had this planned all along, Machias. You really are a sly devil, if that's the case." And smart as a whip to outwit the Grandmaster.

Machias, Ash and Crow were all staring at her, the real her. The lack of a mask had all three men relaxing without being aware they had been tense to begin with. The mask thing was really, really disconcerting.

"As much as I would love to be able to claim that was my grand scheme all along, Melyssa," Machias bowed his head to her with a slight smile. "You give me far too much credit, we all know I'm more of a fighter than a thinker."

"Which explains why you got THIS job." Crow snorted, walking over to stare down into Melyssa's teal eyes. "So what was the mind game she tried playing with you?" He asked curiously, knowing one had been laid out because he had had the same thing, a few times, happen to him.

"It wasn't a mind game at all. I told her what was going on, like Machias wanted me to, and then Mariabell paid me a visit and told me I didn't have to be Lysa Reynolds anymore. I didn't have to wear the masks anymore. I burned them all, by the way. They are HISTORY." It felt damn good to do that too and she'd done it out in the middle of nowhere, in the woods in a clearing, so she wouldn't start a major fire. "She did tell me she has spies all over Crossbell City and she knows I've been friendly with you all. And surprisingly, she seemed fine with it, so I couldn't begin to tell you what her endgame is either. Oh, and Mariabell told me since I passed whatever this test was the Grandmaster gave me, I can pretty much do whatever I want as an Enforcer now, as long as it doesn't intervene with the Grandmaster's main plans. I don't think they're after Crossbell anymore, unless they want you to let your guards down. It's hard to say, she's not easy to read."

"No, Lyssa, there was something else." Crow said quietly, studying her meticulously. "For me, one of the times anyway, it was about Class VII not being my friends at all. Why would they trust me? I was a terrorist, a spy…"

His cheeks flushed, remembering how hard it had been to earn trust back after turning his back on them, again. Rean had been the only one who had welcomed him back with no questions asked and Rean had been called a fool for it. Now Rean was… not here, not welcoming anyone… and he felt a moment's twinge of guilt because nobody had even tried siding with the guy who had always taken care of them without question. Guilt had to go, no time for it. When she shook her head again, he nodded and let it go.

"It's good to see your proper face again, outside of safe zones."

In a way, the Grandmaster DID question her regarding Class VII trusting her, but they didn't need to know that. There was no reason for it. If they didn't trust her, she wouldn't be here and she knew it. Then again, maybe they were keeping the enemy close – her. It didn't matter, they had bigger fish to fry and had a plan when it came to Rean. He wasn't himself…and she wondered if Ouroboros had something to do with it.

From how everyone spoke about him, including Emma, Rean was the most forgiving, understanding and trusting man in Erebonia. Now, it was almost as if he didn't trust a single person and there was a darkness inside of him. She really needed to talk to him one more time, to see if she was right in her assumption when it came to Ouroboros. Again, they didn't need to know what she was planning outside of city hall, though she was contemplating asking Ash or Crow to accompany her to Leeves on Saturday – their next day off.

Ash was still playing the 'mind my own business and focus on the matters at hand' game. Neither Crow or Melyssa had volunteered information about that night and he had managed to squash his curiosity and refrained from asking. If they wanted him to know, he'd tell them, though admittedly, he had been more than a little tempted to bean Crow a good one for ruining what was potentially a date with Melyssa.

The rest of the day was business as usual with Crow accompanying the treasurer to the bank while he stood guard at the office door, Machias was getting ready to leave for the night. He had stood there, watching as she worked, listening to her conversations and been bored out of his mind. When Melyssa finally ended her last phone call and stood up, signaling she was done with the end of her workday, he flashed her a hesitant smile when she glanced at him.

Melyssa smiled back with a small nod, knowing Ash hated Rean because of what happened to her in Jurai. The man could not understand why their Instructor would use her as bait with her own father. She understood why Rean did what he did, and didn't fault him for it either.

Something isn't right with him. I can feel it and I don't know why. I was a bitch to him, even though he wasn't nice to me. He doesn't trust me and that's not like Rean at all, not according to what Crow told me. Crow was only putting up with her because of their job, but they were tense with each other, so there was no way he'd go with her to Leeves. I'll just go alone. I can handle myself and…I can handle Rean. She hoped. The man wasn't called the Divine Blade of the Eight Leaves or the Ashen Chevalier for nothing. It doesn't matter. I have to try. Maybe wearing the mask threw him off or something.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's a bad idea." Ash observed, having been watching her face intently.

He had always, from day one, been able to read Melyssa like a book. Granted nowadays it was a bit harder, her training with Ouroboros had made it so it was near impossible because she kept her face stoic and still for the most part. Her not wearing a mask anymore helped him look for facial cues and then there were her eyes, those stunning teal eyes that showed so much emotion if she wasn't actively concentrating on hiding it. At her politely puzzled, raised eyebrow, he grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"You got this look, like you're planning on doing something you maybe shouldn't. Your jaw squared up." Which meant she had reached a decision.

"Yes, I have and you won't approve of what I want to do, so I'm not telling you what it is."

Ash would try to stop her, convince her not to do it, but in her heart and her mind, Melyssa knew she had to do this. Traveling to Leeves to talk to Rean Schwarzer had to be done. Mariabell said she could do whatever she wanted now that she no longer had to hide her true identity from the world. Enforcers weren't on tight leashes and going to talk to Rean wouldn't interfere with anything the Grandmaster had planned.

"I'm taking a trip for the weekend. I'll be back sometime Sunday evening, just so you're not growing greys worrying about me."

"I already am growing greys because of you. I've been tearing them out on a regular basis since the day I met you." He informed her, pink eyes narrowing slightly. "Business trip or pleasure?"

Ash knew it was none of his business, but damned if he could keep himself from asking. When Melyssa just shrugged one shoulder, he felt like snatching her up. Except then he'd have to explain why he was assaulting a coworker, or being assaulted by one.

"Want some company?" He offered, already knowing she would shoot him down.

"Now see, I WAS going to ask you to come along, but when I tell you what I'm going to do, you're probably going to blow a gasket and take half of Crossbell City with you." Now his eyes were pink slits and she groaned, taking his hand to pull him into her office. Being the Mayor's head secretary had perks. "I'm going to see Rean." Before he could blow his stack, she covered his mouth with her hand and her teal eyes pleaded with him to hear her out. "Ash, I have to talk to him. Just one more time. Something is wrong with him…and I don't think it's…I don't think he's in control of it. From what Crow told me, he used to be the nicest, most trusting, most dedicated, most FORGIVING person in Erebonia. How he was acting at the log cabin has been bothering me and…I think Ouroboros might have something to do with it. And since I know you're still angry and bitter towards him for what happened in Jurai, I didn't want to burden you with my trip to Leeves. It wasn't his fault for what happened. NOBODY could've known the true purpose of Ouroboros being there." Her. "You have to forgive him. You have to forgive him the same way you forgave me. I'm the one responsible for what happened in Jurai, not him. And since I'm back to my old self again, and I can pretty much do whatever I want as an Enforcer, this is my new path."

This woman WAS going to be the death of him and his hair! Ash was pretty sure he could FEEL the greys coming in, covering his natural color and his pink eyes were beginning to border on an almost red color as he continued staring at her. He grabbed her hand and slowly pulled it away from his mouth, having had the childish thought of licking her palm and was glad that impulse had left as quickly as it had arrived.

"You're right…about Rean." He admitted grudgingly, snorting when her eyes widened in shock. "Crow's been saying the same thing."

Except nobody listened to Crow. Crow and Rean had been best friends and it had taken Crow a long time to get over what had happened in Jurai. How Rean had used Melyssa as bait, but what went down at the cabin had gotten the gears in Crow's head turning.