(#)s are marks for notes located at the end of this part.

--
PART 2

"Shadow Dance!" Rhen screamed, sending out a burst of bubbles(1) before stumbling backwards. She and the wolf hit the ground simultaneously, though the wolf suffered far worse.

"Are you hurt?!"

The shout came from the two men now standing on either side of the distressed girl, glaring at each other. Rhen, sensing the sudden tension, quickly waved her arms back and forth.

"I'm fine! I wasn't hit; just surprised," Rhen spoke, standing and brushing the back of her skirt off.

"You were taken to the ground by mere surprise?" Galahad spoke almost unbelievingly, causing Rhen's face to flare.

"I had something on my mind, ok?" Rhen snapped, marching to the front, "Let's go already!"

The others followed somewhat hesitantly.

"'s not the time ta be off guard," John chastised, though low enough to only be heard by the people closest to him. Te'ijal nodded in agreement.

"She's under stress," Lars defended. Dameon snorted.

"Wonder whose fault that is?" Dameon countered.

"Are you suggesting something?"

"Yes, I am. The girl has enough to deal with. She doesn't need any false love confess-"

"It isn't false!"

"Ye-"

"Lars."

The two men stopped their bickering by the sound of Elini's voice. The tall woman grabbed at Lars's robes before tugging him away from the rest of the group.

"Hey! You can't drag me around like some rag doll!" Lars yelled, trying his hardest to plant his feet into the ground. He inwardly cursed the strong women of Veldt.

"You had a love potion spilled on you," Elini said, spinning around and planting her hands on his shoulders. Lars open his mouth, no doubt to protest, when her grip tightened, "I know what you're going to say. Those feelings are real. Look... whether they are or not, I have to side with Dameon on this one."

Lars scowled and managed to shrug her hands off his shoulders, crossing his arms and huffing. Even though his body language was disagreeing with the entire situation, he kept quiet, and couldn't quite keep the confusion from showing in his eyes.

Elini sighed, feeling sorry for him being stuck in the current situation.

"Rhen has to concentrate right now. We're so close to Ahriman... moments like what just happened with the wolf are dangerous. Really dangerous," Elini stressed, glancing over at the others, "You've confessed. That's all you can do. You know Rhen; if you drown the girl in attention, she's just going to shy away."

"I know that," Lars snapped, clenching his fists, "I know Rhen better than any of you! But I... I have so much more to prove to her... because of the past."

"And you have been. You no longer show her hostility, you help her in any way possible, you've apologized to her... she's incredibly grateful already. But I really don't think being anything more than friends has ever even crossed her mind."

Lars winced at the blunt statement.

"But this is my chance to-"

"You're used to getting whatever you want, aren't you?" Elini interrupted, sighing, "Can you be unselfish for once and back off?"

The words sounded harsh even to her own ears, but Elini concluded that they needed to be said. No matter how much the young man in front of her wanted to change, his upbringing would still be carried along with him, and some habits were hard to break.

Lars tensed, and for a moment, Elini thought she would be getting a mouth full, but Lars simply nodded and turned his back to her, walking toward the group already a good three hundred feet ahead.

Elini followed.

'... This is all John's fault,' she concluded.

--
Things had calmed down afterward. Rhen forced herself to stay alert, Lars and Dameon avoided each other like a plague, Te'ijal admired the outside world she had not seen after hundreds of years locked in darkness, Elini made a few attempts to woo John without a love potion...

In fact, the only excitement they had while crossing the desert was when a scorpion clamped a claw into Galahad's backside.(2)

Needless to say, this put Te'ijal in a particularly delightful mood the rest of the way to Veldt.

Veldt itself had not changed much since their previous visit... not counting the multi-colored banners and hanging strings of beads spread throughout the main square.

"What is this?" Te'ijal asked, running a hand through the door of beads in front of her while looking back at Elini in question. Even Elini looked slightly surprised.

"These are festival decorations," Elini replied without offering much explanation.

"I'm going to stock up on supplies!" Rhen announced before speeding off. Galahad raised an eyebrow.

"I just got supplies this morning…" He trailed off, shrugging.

Women.

For the most part, Rhen ignored the busyness around her, heading toward the Alchemist's shop in a near straight line. The inside was lavishly decorated in brightly colored cloth, matching the liveliness of the outside.

"Aldara!"(3)

The tall teal haired woman turned upon the call and smiled when her blue eyes met Rhen.

"Well, it's good to see you again!" She exclaimed, glancing back at the familiar kettle sitting on a shelf behind her, "This little guy has been really useful to me."

"I'm glad," Rhen replied, mirroring the smile, "I have a question… about the love potion you gave us."

Aldara smiled mischievously, leaning over the counter.

"Oh? How did it fair?"

"I need a cure."
The alchemist looked quite taken aback by the unexpected comment, blinking a couple times as if trying to determine whether she really did hear what she thought she had.

"A cure," she repeated blandly. Rhen nodded in affirmation, but chose not to speak upon seeing the woman's reaction. Quite frankly, it sent a wave of discomfort through her body.

'No one would make a potion without a cure!' She tried to reassure herself, '… but what if there really isn't one? What if Lars is stuck this way…? No! He can't… he can't love me! It's absurd!'

She was very well ready to throw a temper tantrum if she didn't get the answer she wanted within the next few seconds.

Thankfully, it wasn't needed.

Aldara sighed.

"I really do not get you outsiders. I give you an easy way to catch a strong husband or two and you blow it off," she reprimanded, shaking her head from side to side unbelievingly, "So be it."

Rhen's eyes lit up.

"However," the alchemist spoke up again, "I currently do not have the ingredients needed to make this potion. There will be a shipment coming in tomorrow to restock everything this festival will deprive us of, and I can make it for you then."

Rhen nodded quickly, though she was a little unnerved by the news.

Another night, huh?

At least there was a festival in town. That would surely keep them busy.

"What is this festival for, anyway?" Rhen couldn't help but ask, curious as to what fun the night had in store now that the weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Aldara's eyes widened.

"It's the Queen's birthday, of course!"

"Really, Elini," Dameon spoke, staring her down disapprovingly, "The 'urgent business' you had to attend to was a birthday party?"

"I am very proud of my lineage, thank you. It wouldn't be right for me to miss this."

Elini was lying through her teeth. And as Rhen walked into Elini's house to overhear the conversation, she knew it all too well.
And apparently her husbands did as well. After exchanging bewildered glances at each other, one opened his mouth to speak.

… And promptly shut it after being subjected to his wife's pain-promising glare.

After all, their plan could not be risked after having such a wonderful excuse presented to them.

"It's no problem," Rhen said, making herself known, "We'll just stay here for the night and enjoy the festivities. Maybe we need something like this before treading into dangerous territory."

"This is fine with me. I have never attended a non-haunted festival," Te'ijal responded, looking intrigued by the idea.

"I'll go pay fer the inn," John said, hand fishing in his pockets for gold.

"There is no need. You all can stay here," Elini offered, holding up her hand. Galahad glanced at her husbands in question.

"Are you sure there is enough room?" Galahad inquired. Elini smiled.

"Of course," she said before turning a stern gaze to her husbands, "You guys will stay at the inn tonight so I may have my guests over."

The rest of the party looked shocked. Even more so when her husbands did as they were told and left without another word.(4)

"… I hate women," Galahad spoke as if he had just stumbled upon a world-shattering discovery. Rhen couldn't help but giggle at the look on his face before something sprang to her mind. After looking around, her eyes rested on Lars, who was sitting on a nearby couch, staring out the window.

'He hasn't said a word.'

She allowed her eyes to linger.

'It's ok. Everything will be back to normal tomorrow.'

"When dusk approaches, the festivities will begin!" Elini announced.

--

1: This may sound a little weird, but that's what that attack looks like! XD
2: Can you not see this happening?!
3: Totally a made up name. She is just known as 'Alchemist' in Aveyond.
4: XDD Oh, how women of Veldt are in control.


This is a little shorter than the previous chapter, but I wanted to cut it off here. The LarsxRhen moments will really start in the next part, I promise! Thanks for reading.