Silent Lamb

by xeveningx

In silence lay secrets that have haunted her for years and she's ready to give up everything in order to take them to her grave. At this point,there's nothing to make her waver.Or is there? In the end,it's her choice: unravel the truth and destroy everything she's come to love, or forever be the scapegoat and lose herself in the process? (Rated M for themes.)

13. Seedling of Chaos

Chapter Thirteen:

Seedling of Chaos

---

There was a quiet impasse that crawled its way through the palace, leaving any who could remotely sense it on edge. Even after only a couple of days of the Reizei siblings leaving to sail back home to Shika, those few who had overheard bits of small chatter or gossip were quick to speculate as to why such close family had so suddenly fractured.

Some said that there were inner quarrels about who should lead the family, which put soldiers of the Southern Armies beside themselves with frustration. Some spoke about the general herself pleading for them to leave for their safety, putting many who believed that in a quiet panic as to what such powerful people could possibly be running from. The most prominent by far, though, was of Masami no longer supporting her sister because, as rumor had it after the news of the disbanded marriage between herself and Prince Kouen, it was said that the Prince had actually been in affairs with the second daughter, the general herself.

But Seijin believed none of those. Not only because they were the most ludicrous rumors he'd ever heard, but because he knew the truth.

The woman they all had known as General Reizei Kohaku was actually one named Ceara of Ériu. Not a noble or familiar; simply a girl who once served the actual second daughter of the Reizei family.

Even that, though, sounded ridiculous to his ears and he would have not believed such thing had he not himself heard her say those exact words.

His mind in turmoil, Seijin could not figure where he stood now. Prince Kouen had assured him that if he so wished, he could serve under the Imperial Family and withdraw from serving the Reizei family all together. It certainly was the sounder decision. He had been a mere tailor's servant back in Rakushou and if he didn't want to return to those days of menial labor and poor treatment, he was better off taking the prince's offer.

Yet he couldn't bring himself to just accept and part from the same woman that had defended and freed him from such life.

"I don't know what to do." Leaning back against his chair, Seijin brushed a hand through his golden hair before meeting a pair of silver eyes that met his mossy green ones with indifference.

By telling Parisa all that he knew, he was basically breaking every order that Prince Kouen had given them, but he still needed to talk about this with someone. That night had replayed so much in his head and every detail was so vivid that there was no way he could attempt or feign to forget something like that. Besides, he trusted the older magician; despite being a few years older than himself, the two had become trusted friends in the short time after he arrived to Balbadd. The girl was more mature than she let on, and absolutely abhorred gossip which is why he felt he could tell her at least the minimum of what caused him so much conflict.

Serve the imperial family or return to serve a woman that was not who she said she was?

"Quite the conundrum." Taking a leaf from the vines around her wrist, she popped it in her mouth to chew it, her eyes locked on his.

"I don't need the obvious, Risa," he said, restraining from raising his voice as steps from other servants hurried outside of the quarters. "I need answers."

"Well then if you wanted that, you're wasting your time talking to me," she deadpanned. Giving her a long stare, Seijin exhaled, exasperated about the situation as she was apathetic to it. She waved her hand dismissively and leaned forward to keep the conversation between them as maids rushed in and out. "Jin, I can't choose for you. This is your problem and your life."

"But not the easiest choice of that short life," he added.

"What's so hard about it?" she asked.

"Are you—" Lowering his voice, he scooted in further and hissed back, "Are you serious? What about this is easy?"

"Well," Parisa drawled, tapping her foot on the floor. "You said she saved you from being run over by a carriage, right?" Seijin nodded and gave her leeway to continue. "And you said that she didn't even announce her status when you guys were in trouble, either."

"Kinda hard to considering back then she couldn't speak."

Parisa waved the comment away like a pesky fly before patting his knee reassuringly. "But even after, when she offered to take you in, you accepted, right? Why?"

Why? "It was better than staying jobless and starve to death."

"See, I would believe that answer if you were not in such a predicament against your own conscious," she said plainly. Her finger came up to stab him right in the chest, slightly pushing him back against the chair. "Ask yourself: why did I really go with this woman?"

Why? Seijin couldn't think of one concrete answer to that. At least not immediately. Sure, he had been afraid of being left homeless to starve but unlike many other nobles or high-class customers he had served in his young life, she had been different—felt different. And her first impression was only the tip of that feeling he'd gotten. Through the year he served under her, that woman had been one to confide in, one to trust, one who would work hard and do good. Perhaps, he thought, some of that was out of guilt from what he'd discovered but he found it hard to believe that it was all out of remorse or for simple penance.

She truly was happiest when helping others or her family. When she cared, she did so with everything she had; the same with whoever she deemed her enemy. Acting on extremes was what she did best and although he could tell it sometimes wasn't the best, she didn't back down once her mind was made.

Why did I accept to go with her?

"It felt right." A chuckle escaped him as he remembered that day. "She saved me, had been so nice about it, and even defended me. She did all that and didn't even ask later for recompense."

After a while, the treatment she gave him made Seijin feel like he wasn't just a servant of her household but actually a part of it. She had made him a part of her family and he didn't even know how she'd manage that.

"She makes me feel like I have a place I belong. And the life I have now—the toiling alongside her, the training to better myself, and even just the fun I had—" Seijin sighed with a small chuckle as he finally seemed to understand something "—it makes me realize where I'm supposed to be now."

Parisa gave him a wide grin and, tilting her head, asked, "And where is that, Seijin?"

"By her side."

---

Quiet and yet not so at the same time. This felt truly disconcerting for some reason—almost like standing in the eye of a hurricane.

Ceara caught the sight of the bright outside that the day brought by the corner of her eye while pacing her room. Having been cleaned after everything had settled down a bit, she had promptly returned after being released from the infirmary just a few days after the twins' departed.

The poison had mostly left her system and, according to Parisa, whatever was left would swiftly follow as well. The young magician still checked-up on her daily as per requests from Kougyoku but Ceara found them unnecessary. She felt better, physically at least. Her mind still whirled with everything that had transpired in a short month and it bothered her sleep and appetite again.

But nothing bothered her more than being alone. Ceara thought that she would be able to deal with it. After all, during long expeditions or the like, she would often times go alone or with Masami which was practically the same. But she this was different; back then, she was assured that she could return to them and be welcomed. Now, she couldn't fathom what she could do, if anything, that would allow any sort of welcome from them anymore. Being alone now was smothering her slowly and it showed.

Even Kouen's kind words—a sentence she never thought she'd say—had done little to alleviate that pain. Having their household vessels close, along with her own metal vessels, did somewhat calm her but it also reminded her of what she no longer had. Of what another had so brazenly taken from her.

"Offtimes the people who do the worst end up with all the good in the world."

Rakah's words looped in her head, ringing a little truer every time, and it agitated her that she couldn't shake them away. Murmur's brief reminder the day the ship departed had kept her on the right track, reminding her of her promise, of why she did what she did.

I'll love them no matter what. And I'll do anything and fight anyone who gets in my way of protecting what I love.

She had been idle and submissive for too long. They had left, that was their choice, and as such she would respect it, but she wouldn't allow anything else to get in the way of what she wanted: to protect them.

His words, though, still rang on repeat: "You're underestimating the situation— undermining what horrid things people are capable of doing to themselves and others for no reason—and that error can cost you more than you think."

Part of her wanted to disprove that; after all, she had seen what good people carried in them and what a common cause could bring them to forgo. Another, however, couldn't help but agree because she had borne witness to the opposite as well. What her mind fought to agree upon was which would win over the other when everything was said and done.

Two knocks startled her out of her rattling mind and got her to immediately letting whomever had knocked in without thinking. Wide-eyed, Ceara stared at Seijin as he stood before her, hands poised behind himself. No one but those who needed to had met with her ever since a couple of days ago, much less those who had been in the room when the twins had burst in.

The young blond boy, however, stood firm and composed like he always did. But she worried the instant it sunk that he was there. Seijin held no obligation to her, much less now when he knew who she was.

She didn't want to drag what was surely to come any longer than it had to be. "Kouen told me about what he offered. You should take his proposal; it'll at least leave you in good standings."

Seijin's stern expression suddenly broke into a cheeky smile that baffled her. "No thanks."

The brashness of his speech took her by surprise as well. The boy that she had before her was much less polite than the one she'd raised for a year, and although somewhat reminiscent of the boy that had grown accustomed to her, he wasn't exactly like that either. This was different; he seemed different.

"Why?"

"Frankly?" he said, stepping forth, "I don't want to serve him."

Such answer made her brow furrow in confusion. "But it'll secure your future. After what's happened, serving me—"

"Is what I want to do."

Ceara felt like someone had punched the air out of her at the same time that her heart felt a bit lighter with hope. What?

Seijin smiled. "I'm not joking, if that's what you're thinking. I'm very serious."

"But Seijin," she refuted, "you heard what I said, what I confessed to. You can't serve me."

"Says who?" he asked haughtily. "After all, it's not known publically, right? And Prince Kouen said you wouldn't be disposed of until after the subjugation of the west was complete, true?" She didn't see where he was going with all this, but she didn't have to wait long to hear his point. "Then there's absolutely nothing wrong with me continuing to serve you. All that everyone will know is that I serve under my master, Reizei Kohaku."

"But you know that's not true."

"Yes," he replied. "Which is what makes me all the more certain of my decision. I know the truth, and although I can't fully say I understand why you did the things you did, I honestly don't think they matter much."

How can it not? "Seijin, please." She grabbed him by his shoulders and met his eyes to get her point across. "Think about yourself. Think what's best for you."

"I am," he assured her with a smile. "And the last year I spent serving you has taught me more about the world, people, and myself that I ever thought possible. Most of all, I learned who I serve: a strong, kind, albeit stubborn master. And that latter part seems to have been contagious."

"Seijin."

"This past year I worked under a woman who has done extraordinary things for those in need. And now, I think I understand why. But I'm sure that not everything was out of guilt. I'm sure some was also because it's just who you are, Miss Ceara." Him calling her by that name made her flinch and her hold on him slacked. Stepping back from her hold, Seijin took a knee and saluted her with a bow before lifting his head, a warm smile on his face. "And I was proud, just as I am now, to call you my master." That cheeky grin from before returned, the boy that she had yet to meet surfacing again. "So, please, don't leave me here to look like a complete idiot."

The last comment got her to chuckle, her hands coming up to cover her mouth and the gesture making his grin widen. This boy, the Seijin that now let himself be known before her, was just as stubborn as her, she had to admit. And knowing them, neither would back down.

I guess I'll have to be the bigger woman then.

Bending down, Ceara grabbed him by his forearm to help him up so that they could stand face to face. Smiling at him, she let go before nodding. "If that's what you want, then I would be delighted to have you, Seijin." Reaching her hand out, it only took Seijin a few seconds before he took it in his to shake it. "My name is Ceara of Ériu and I'm more than pleased to meet you."

"Likewise, Miss of Ériu." Letting go, he chuckled while scratching his cheek sheepishly. "But I guess I can't very well call you that in public. If it's all right with you, may I continue addressing you as I have?"

"Do as you please, Jin," she said with a smile of her own. "It's what I'll do."

"Then I shall, master."

A glow from her pocket took both of them by surprise and made Ceara pulled out the velvet pouch from her side. The light came from the broken metal vessel inside but the intensity grew and concentrated into a small sphere of light before snuffing out. But despite being unable to see it, Ceara heard it: the rukh that flew to Seijin's side. And the small light that came to Seijin's left earring—a small leafed-vine of silver—amazed Ceara because she had only seen something similar happen twice in her lifetime.

She vividly remembered Sousei grinning the widest he had ever done before while holding his blade and Suisei ecstatically jumping from her joy grabbing at her silver-zircon necklace when the same thing had happened. Both had shone the same way. Both had received something from her djinn.

First from Beleth to Sousei. Then from Marbas to Suisei. And now…

"...Murmur."

"Master, what happened?" he asked nervously grabbing at his ear as if something had cut it off.

Ceara did her best to calm him before explaining something that, although she couldn't comprehend seeing the state of Murmur's metal vessel, she nonetheless was grateful for. "It's Murmur. Even as he is, he recognized you."

"Recognized me?"

Humming in agreement, Ceara couldn't help the smile that reached her lips. "As the first of his household."

---

"Seijin obtained a household vessel from Murmur?"

"Strange, I know." The fazed look quickly changed to a gentle smile at the mere thought of it. "But it's fine by me. I trust Murmur and know we both made the right choice." Turning to him, Kouen saw the sheepish smile that she gave him. "I guess he won't be joining your entourage in the end."

"Never thought he actually would." Kouen sat back against his chair, returning to reading the documents that still needed to be read before his departure tomorrow. There were some matters that needed to be dealt with in nearby cities; nothing critical but they needed to be done with before they left for the summit.

Interest seemingly piqued, Ceara tilted her head. "You...did?"

"Considering the amount of time you spent together and how loyal he's been to you, I expected nothing less, truthfully." His eyes skimmed each word, sentence, paragraph, and took all the information in despite talking with her at the same time. It somewhat amazed him that he became able to tune her out just enough to where he could answer her and read simultaneously.

"Even after all this…" The clattering that he heard, made him look askance for a brief moment to see Ceara as she placed the sheathed sword from her hip onto her lap. "I thought he would leave me too."

"Not everyone will react exactly the same."

"I suppose so," she sighed, coughing a little as she did so. When the coughs didn't subside after a few seconds, Kouen let his scroll down and reached to serve a small glass of water before passing it to her. Taking her time to drink it down, Ceara kept clearing her throat every other moment she breathed.

"Are you all right?"

"Parisa gave me some new medicine." Ceara reached over to get herself another glass, taking a few sips but mostly leaving it aside. "It's disgusting and leaves a horrible aftertaste. She said it would help my sleep and appetite problems, though."

"Again?" he said, remembering well the last time she had gone down that path as not the best of things.

She nodded with a small chuckle. "Both her and Seijin keep reminding me that I have to take better care of myself if I want to get better quickly. And well, I want to get better this time."

"No more dark thoughts like before?"

"Dark thoughts?"

Breathing out while thinking for a moment, Kouen replied. "The 'I rather looked forward to dying' ones."

A tiny 'oh' came from under her breath as she shrunk back into her chair. It took a few minutes for her to come back to the present and out of her train of thought. "I just…" she sighed through her nose as she pursed her lips, "it was kind of hard not to think like that—still is somewhat. But I've decided that even if they hate me, I will still protect and love them all the same. And if I'm going to do that then I have to be ready for anything that may come. Ergo, I have to be healthy, or at least relatively so."

"Your hallucinations have decreased as well, have they not?"

"Is Parisa part of your espionage too?"

"She's part of Kouha's vanguard. Kouha's part of my army. Ergo," he drawled out the word she had used, "They answer to me, regardless."

"Chain of command does not equate servitude."

"For our military it does."

She shook her head at his baseless replies but went back to answer his original question. "They're few nowadays. They mostly wake me up now, although, I did have another one while awake yesterday."

"And you were alone?"

"Yes but I managed," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Just breathe—" she mimicked, breathing in deeply with her eyes closed "—and exhale as so. I was told that hanging onto anything of substance also anchors me to reality, too. It helps when I am by myself."

"Be sure to be accompanied." Kouen's eyes shifted between the scroll and her, his concentration teetering to the latter at what she told him. "At least until after the two week period Parisa talked about is over."

"I'll be fine." But her assurances meant little to him. Blind couldn't guide the blind, after all. He didn't trust her lucid much less when she was lost in delusions. A moment before he was to voice that, she beat him to it, her hands tightly gripping the sheathed blade on her lap. "I wanted to ask you something actually. And it's something personal, too, so I want to make sure that it's fine if I do."

I shouldn't be digging that grave any deeper than what it already is.

"What is it?"

The sheer confirmation gave her enough confidence to speak despite her eyes laying right on the blade. "Why is it that you conquer and keep expanding the Kou Empire?"

Odd. He heard nothing even remotely close to personal in any of that. Regardless, he answered. "It was what my father wanted and what Emperor Hakutoku, Prince Hakuyuu and Prince Hakuren began. As part of Kou's army and the imperial family, I wanted the same even after they passed. I continue their legacy and wish to unify this world."

"No." A heavy sigh came out of her as she laid her head back a little too hard against her chair. Confused by her reaction, Kouen waited for her to elaborate on how he had failed to answer her question. She mumbled under her breath about 'not wording things right' before attempting once more. "I'm not asking you, the First Imperial Prince of the Kou Empire. I'm asking you, Ren Kouen. Why do you use this amazing power you obtained to conquer and expand the rule of an empire?"

Now that sounded like what she meant by personal but nonetheless it wasn't as bad as he expected it to be. "To erase war from this world by unifying it."

"Erase war?"

"War creates a vicious cycle of hatred that amounts to more of its kind," he began, giving the simplest explanation he could. "Humans are incredibly fearsome creatures capable of horrendous acts of violence and destruction. But it's not for nothing. War is nothing more than two ideologies differing from one another; people are no different. But what breeds hatred is when the things they love are threatened."

You are the perfect example of that.

"Erasing war would erase the ultimate threat. Where there is no threat to what is loved, there is no reason for hatred to be born. And where there is no hatred, there will be no more reason to fight. The endless cycle of hatred would thus end."

"That's...quite the circular thinking."

"But it is an end that is achievable."

"I wish I could believe that as strongly as you do," she admitted and paused briefly to take a deep breath. "Then let me ask, what if there's a flaw in that argument. What if hatred is born without their loved ones being under threat. What if...there exists people in the world that cause havoc and suffering without motive? What would you do with them?"

"There exists no such thing."

"Humor me."

What a ridiculous idea. "Ideally?" She nodded. "Keep a watchful eye and let it sort out as it will."

"What about that whole cycle you mentioned? If all they're going to cause is chaos, why not rid the world of it? It would be the right thing to do."

"Right or not, killing someone because they disagree with you will lead nowhere." He placed the scroll down and fully faced her as she did the same to him. Her gaze was intense, inquisitive, wanting an answer to the query she had. "You will find so many that fit that criteria, especially if you base it on personal views."

"But regardless of bias," she continued arguing, "wouldn't ridding the world of someone like that be the right thing to do?"

"There is no right answer to what you're asking."

"How can there not be?" she argued, her voice rising a pitch. "Shouldn't it be common sense to eliminate a mindlessly destructive and universal threat like that?"

"Where are you getting all this from?"

That question got her to stop briefly, though the fire in her eyes at the argument didn't cease to be. "N-nowhere. It's just a question. Rhetorical."

"Does not seem likely," he refuted. "Not from the way you're arguing."

"I'm not arguing," she grumbled before taking her sword and raising from her sit. "If you're going to be unreasonable—"

"Did you bite your tongue?"

Her cheeks took a slight dust of pink at that accusation but she frowned instead of answering the childish jab. Pulling at her skirts that got stuck at the armrest of the chair, she stalked over to the windowsill and sat down the farthest she could from the desk. Laying down her sword and taking a nearby scroll without looking at it, she ignored him after that and simply settled down to read.

Scoffing, Kouen didn't bother with her tantrum and went back to reading himself. But as silent hours passed, part of his mind meandered to a loose thought that he couldn't understand or quite let go off. That whole talk about a 'universal threat' and 'people who destroy without reason' bothered him. Especially when she seemed so adamant about being right.

Where have I seen that before?

A pair of blue eyes, one a shade paler than the other, flashed in his mind as he recalled from where. Hakuryuu. That same intense fire he saw burn in Hakuryuu's eyes was the same one that he briefly saw flicker in her stark blue ones. She held steadfast to her idea; one that, the more he thought about, sounded more like an excuse.

And with what's been happening recently, it's obvious for what.

His grip on Hakuryuu's mindset, as nonexistent as it may have been, was greatly distorted. The boy was too far gone, lost in both revenge and hatred to ever be a liable king's vessel. Ceara looked to follow in that path without realizing it and her motive, despite being much more reachable with the target he knew she had in mind, was becoming just as distorted.

But it's preventable.

Without making a sound, Kouen raised from his chair, his sheathed blade in one hand, and came to stand before Ceara who laid asleep from her medication on the windowsill. Peaceful as she was, Kouen could almost accurately predict the kinds of thoughts she was concocting to justify her means and ends. Even a pacifist, when threatened—when what mattered was threatened—would attack. He needed to avoid that.

Taking his sword in hand, the hilt hovering over her along with the metal ornament, he let Phenex's powers come from a mere thought. Small rose-colored bird's wings sprouted from the metal vessel as it flew from its nest and perched just on Ceara's forehead. The small bird swept its wings across her temple before sinking in, leaving a hue of rose light across her skin and disturbing her mildly in her sleep. As soon as the hue left, though, the slight frown that had come to her face disappeared as she fell soundly back to sleep.

Caution, that was what he was opting for. Placing an egg in her was for the best, just in case she thought of doing something absurdly idiotic.

"She is capable of destroying that egg before it even hatches, my king," Phenex told him. "She does posses Murmur, a djinn of life alike myself."

"One that does not work at the moment," he reminded her in a quiet voice. "This is for the best."

Phenex didn't answer until after a moment of quiet. "As you say, my king."

It was. Whatever hatred or bloodlust she may have for Masami could not possibly be as great as Hakuryuu's for Gyokuen but he would rather be prepared than sorry. And if anything, Kouen would be sure to save at least one of them from whatever hatred consumed them.

---

Ceara took a deep breath of the outside, pulling the cowl a bit over her head as she meandered the streets of Balbadd while the people went about their day. After being cooped up in the palace for days on end because of what had happened, she had wanted to escape the walls that caged her. Thankfully, with Kouen being absent until later that morning, she had enough leeway to convince his retainers, including his household members, that she would return. They urged her to do so before the meeting with Sindria's ambassador, news that she had only just heard of then.

But with only three hours, she doubted it would be enough to enjoy her leashed freedom. Especially when En Shou and Shuu Kokuton, on behalf of their master, appointed both Seijin and Parisa to accompany her and make sure she returned before the welcome of the Sindrian ambassador. With them on the line, Ceara couldn't afford to mess around which meant she wasn't going to be missing the ambassador's welcome like she had planned to.

King Sinbad was a man she felt wary of. Without even a need to exchange a single word with her, Ceara had noticed his ill intentions and even the high-pitched noise that had rung when he was near. Everything about that man spelled trouble and she wanted nothing to do with him or his country. Now, though, she would have to deal with whomever had arrived that day.

And as her free time quickly drew to a close, she found herself much more bitter than she thought she would be. Choosing to forget about that matter until she was forced to think about it, Ceara smiled down and waved back at the children of Balbadd's orphan house as she, Seijin, and Parisa left the premises after having inspected them themselves.

"Everything looked well." Seijin had a skip to his walk as he jotted down a few things in a small parchment he'd brought along. "Thanks to the patronage, Balbadd's, Shika's, and Rakushou's have made splendid progress."

"That's a pretty neat thing you've done for them," Parisa called from her other side as the two flanked her.

"Nothing either of you, or anybody for that matter, wouldn't have done," she assured her.

"I've got to say, though," Seijin spoke, waiting for them as he walked a bit ahead. "They're beginning to fill up quick."

"No space?" Parisa asked.

"Not enough caretakers," he corrected before turning to Ceara. "The current staff seem a bit overwhelmed with the number of children."

Ceara sighed and began giving it some thought. Surely there had to be others who wished to help as the current staff did. Voicing this to Seijin, he agreed and vouched that he would search for such people to get a proper ratio of children to caretaker. Thanking him, Ceara focused more on enjoying the rest of their walk that was quickly leading them back to the the palace for that meeting.

"Sindria's ambassador?" Parisa asked as Seijin explained what bothered him and Ceara alike.

The boy nodded and began explaining to her. "We don't know who Prince Kouen asked for but whoever it is, it was said that they'll be the ones guiding his highnesses and his entourage out into the island were the summit meeting is supposed to take place."

"And there's a magi that's supposed to be there too?"

"Aladdin," Ceara offered, giving a name to their conversation and remembering well the bright blue eyes and pleasant smile of the young boy she'd briefly met. "Although, I doubt he'll be the only one going if that meeting's supposed to be as important as they keep saying it is."

"Will you go, lady general?" Parisa asked, curious.

Ceara couldn't help but chuckle at the odd title the girl gave her. After telling her about what he'd told the young magician, Ceara couldn't have been more cross with Seijin. But after speaking with Parisa about it, the young magician had been anything but condescending or ill willing. Out of everything, she called it tragic but said she wouldn't judge, stating that after seeing her fight so valiantly at Magnostadt that she didn't have a reason to. Ceara never thought that she would meet anyone that had come from that magic school, especially after its destruction, but apparently Parisa had gone to Balbadd in order to return home to Parthevia. In a turn of events, though, Prince Kouha and his magicians met her as they had left themselves to the plateau and the young prince seemed to have convinced her to join their cause. Ceara didn't know how but wasn't about to pry about her motives, not when she was so accepting of her own.

Remembering her question, Ceara shook her head and calmed their vocal bafflement with surrendering hands. "The meeting is quite interesting, I must admit, but I have a bad feeling about it."

"Bad feeling?" Parisa repeated.

She shrugged her shoulders in response. "Powers that huge assembling in one place? No matter how quiet the location and meeting's purpose has been kept, there's bound to be people that go with ill intentions."

Besides, I don't want to be in the vicinity of a man that I feel even worse about.

"But I thought Prince Kouen—"

Seijin's words, however, got quickly interrupted when a ruckus came to Ceara's ears taking her attention with it. Some feet ahead, a huge crowd had gathered and circled like vultures around whatever they were looking at.

"What's that?" Seijin muttered, he and Parisa stepping up as Ceara led them in.

The crowd was heavy and thick, making it harder to even push through. Once she managed to, however, the scene she saw before her hit heavy. A child injured, badly from the looks of it, with a group of young people around him. What revolted her the most were the imperial officials she saw but a few feet away from the boy. Simply standing there, doing nothing.

The crowd around them remained immobile even when there was a strong sense of urgency that small group to help the boy.

"You bastards! What the hell are you looking at?" one of the guards next to the official shouted out menacingly waving his spear about. "Do you want your tax points voided and rationing reduced so you all starve to death! Get out of here, now!"

And just like that the crowd began dissipating. Without thinking, Ceara stepped forward, surprising both Seijin and Parisa, and made her way to the young boy as the blond man held him in his lap. Kneeling down before them, Ceara stared at the makeshift bandaging they had made for him but his wounds looked too severe for that to work by itself.

"What is wrong with him?" she asked, lifting her head to meet the man before her, her breath hitching a bit at recognizing the ambers eyes with which he stared back at her.

This boy—where have I seen him?

But as stupefied as he was, it was one of his companions that answered him: an older, taller woman completely decked in light armor and long sword at her back. "He was hit by a carriage. He has a head injury with a wounded left shoulder, arm, and ribs as well."

A young redhead girl, one who also appeared rather familiar to Ceara, spoke up alongside the warrior woman. "He needs a doctor."

With a nod, Ceara glanced over her shoulder and called Parisa over. Both her and Seijin walked up to the group as Ceara stood up to give her space. "Treat the boy for what you can, if you would."

"At once," she replied.

"What insolence!" There was no other response Ceara could muster but a groan at hearing the slimy old official that spoke as the guards stepped forward against her and her retainers. "Aiding a slave will have you stripped of your benefits! How dare a woman go against the law!"

"The law," she states turning to him with a snarl, "states that no slave will be harmed during their time enslaved, either by their owners or the government. You dare hide behind of the law and leave a child to die?"

"You're overstepping," he called out, his pale features growing red from his anger. With a swift motion of his sleeved arm, the old man beckoned the guards following him. "Arrest her this instant."

The moment the soldiers took a step forward, though, Seijin did as well, his arm outstretched to keep them separate despite her hand already reaching for her sword. "Dare raise your weapon against my master and you're the ones that will be arrested."

Before anyone could say anything else, either protest or be indignant about his interfering, Parisa spoke up from healing the boy. "He's out of the woods. But keeping him under care would be best, lady general."

One of the other young companions with the amber-eyed blond spoke up at hearing that. "General?"

So much for wanting some secrecy. Pulling off her cowl to reveal herself, Ceara tilted her head as the official and soldiers stiffened at seeing her and immediately bowed without raising their heads, profusely apologizing about the confusion.

"Apologize all you want," she snarled through gritted teeth. "Trash like you disgust me. Jin—" Seijin quickly stood back to listen "—take him to the house."

"But master, the house is—"

"I know," she replied and smiled, "but we can't leave him here. We'll deal with that problem later." Understanding, Seijin went to the boy and took him in his arms as gently as he could. Parisa stood aside, assuring Seijin he'd take care of Ceara which made her chuckle before he left, before going back to Ceara's side. Turning to the group of young kids, she smiled down at them and bowed with a small salute. "Thank you so much for aiding the young boy. And rest assured, he will be taken care of where my retainer took him."

"Will he?" Ceara couldn't help but stare at the amber-eyed boy who had finally found his voice. Instead of replying, Ceara couldn't help her staring, wanting to know where she knew this boy from.

"Magnostadt, my king," Beleth offered. "He's one of the metal vessels that you fought alongside with; Amon's master."

"You have my word," she finally answered and took a step forward to him with a gentle smile. "Excuse my rudeness, but I believe we have met before. Back in Magnostadt."

The blond and the redhead girl took a minute to look at her, eyes narrowed, before they widened with the young man answering that query. "You're one of Kou's metal vessel users. The one with thr—"

"This is the ambassador sent from Sindria." Ceara groaned at the old man as he stepped forward to keep their conversation at a minimum. "He's the former third prince of Balbadd, exiled from his country."

"Irrelevant," Ceara told him, getting tired of his incessant talking. One thing did stick to her mind and she turned instead to the boy. "Sindria's ambassador?"

"Yes," he answered, his eyes somewhat lost and sometimes fleeting in the direction Seijin had left. "My name is Alibaba Saluja, General…"

"Reizei Kohaku." The name tasted bitter in her mouth after all that had happened, but she knew that there were still things to be done under that name. "But please, Kohaku is fine. After all, fighting alongside you was quite the event." Turning away toward the palace, Ceara sighed with a weary grin, "But I believe you have more important matters to attend to than chitchatting with me. Isn't that right?" His nod was all the answer she needed.

Sindria's ambassador, the same young man that helped them fight against the medium in Magnostadt: Alibaba Saluja. She had only seen him in passing and when he and Kouen had fought together but it had been a sight to remember all the same. The boy had been strong then and it made her wonder just how much stronger he'd gotten since.

Addressing him and his companions, Ceara asked if she could join them on their way back to the palace. Alibaba was the one they let answer and he agreed. It only took a few minutes to reach the palace by carriage. Near the entrance the official called out to her, saying that she needed to reconvene with the other military personnel that were attending.

But she had other ideas in mind. "I'll enter along with Sindria's ambassador."

"G-General?" the old man stammered. He clearly was taken aback by her statement and he didn't seem to be the only one.

"I'm sure his highness won't mind," she replied, waving a hand dismissively his way. Not waiting for him to leave, Ceara walked before the group and motioned a hand forward at Alibaba. "If you would follow me, I'll show you the way."

Alibaba simply nodded with the same far-off and bleak expression she'd seem on him since they met in the city. Taking that for what it may be, she walked ahead, hearing them walk behind her, and entered the grand foyer.

The people all around peered down, practically throwing daggers at all who had entered with Alibaba. Even she could feel some directed at her, whether they were or not was something she couldn't discern and frankly didn't care for. One of the many officials in the room called out over the silent, prostrating crowd, announcing their prince, general commander and governor.

So many damn titles. How cumbersome.

Nonetheless she played along. Stepping aside and apart from the small group, she and Parisa both showed their respect with a swift bow and salute. Everything was quiet for a brief second before a gruff voice rang through the room.

They reprimanded Alibaba for not prostrating, claiming that he had no royal standing and as such should do as his retainers and show respect. Another voice, one she recalled as that old official from before, called to the contrary; Alibaba needed not prostrate. The Saluja Household no longer existed and the boy was but a mere ambassador with no ties to Balbadd.

Well, they placed him neatly between a rock and a hard place.

He either forfeited his heritage and country or showed complete submission to the Kou Empire. Neither of which were good if his position was considered. Poor kid.

But the time she felt sorry for him didn't last long before Alibaba took a knee and bowed. He made his choice, apparently. Not like either would have been any good. But that quickly changed when out of nowhere he called out to Kouen, "Here in Balbadd, we have an old custom. That is, the act of touching the ground with one's head is to pray for a pregnant woman to have an easy delivery. Are you still fine with this?"

Ceara had to actually undo her salute to cover her mouth lest the laughter that bubbled in her actually surfaced. Pregnant?That was priceless. The single comment raised havoc as whispers crossed the entire room and it wasn't until one of the military captains present barked out for everyone to rise that Ceara let out a small chuckle before rising with everybody else.

What a bright kid.

Her ears suddenly rang when out of nowhere Kouen let out a loud laughter. It lasted a few breaths but it shocked her all the same; the closest to that she'd ever heard was the small half-scoffs that sounded like chuckles. That, though, had been a full half second of it.

What a kid indeed.

Raising from his throne, Kouen discarded the fancy wardrobe he'd been wearing over his usual outfit, letting it fall haphazardly before stepping down towards Alibaba with his household members following suit. She stood to the side as Kouen talked to Alibaba as if nothing; even Kin Gaku addressed the redhead girl from before with a 'long time no see.' It was only after he had invited Alibaba to discuss about the answers he sought that his gaze leveled to the side to meet Ceara's indifferent glance.

"You left the palace without a proper convoy." It hadn't been a question. Ceara knew for a fact that En Shou and Shuu Kokuton had told him what she'd convinced them of and apparently their choice of detail hadn't been good either.

"That's not true; I took Seijin and Parisa with me." The gaudy reply wasn't going to cut it, though. "I got tired of inhaling nothing but alcohol and antiseptic."

It was the truth but he didn't seem to acknowledge it as a good enough excuse for leaving from what she could see. Even through his impassive expression, Ceara could tell the small glint of annoyance that lingered in his crimson gaze. That all changed, though, when out of nowhere his voice took a rather uneasy tone. "You're pale. Are you certain you're feeling fine?"

"What?" Parisa instantly perked.

Ceara couldn't help but cringe. Despite the concern that Ceara knew those words would usually mean, she was well aware of what he had intended by them. And it had worked to work up the magician that was obsessed with keeping her as healthy as possible. Flocking over like a mother hen, Ceara had to push Parisa away constantly but ended up getting dragged to the infirmary ward for a check-up, completely missing Kouen leaving with Alibaba and the rest of the group.

She wanted to go. She wanted to listen to what those two had to talk about with each other. But the mother hen that Parisa was didn't allow her to leave the infirmary until she checked her well-being completely. Because of Kouen's simple words, Parisa took over an hour to finish and by then, Ceara was hurrying to one of the many war council rooms with Parisa and Seijin trotting after her to keep up.

Luckily, it seemed the meeting was ongoing still as from afar she caught the sight of Kouen's and Koumei's household members standing outside of the meeting room. Shockingly, however, Kouen was not inside the room and instead waited outside for some reason.

"Did the meeting end?" she called out, running up to him a bit out of breath.

He eyed her for a moment before turning away uninterested. "I assumed Parisa would take longer."

Ceara couldn't help but get annoyed by that, especially because it was such a blatant confession to what he had intended his pseudo-concern to cause. All the same, she pulled a smile despite one end of her lips twitching. "She works very efficiently. Of course, that's besides the fact that I was completely fine."

"Shame."

He was clearly avoiding her question. But frankly, she had just asked out of courtesy; she didn't need him either way to listen.

Bele.

"Of course, my king."

Standing still and letting his powers surge through her, Ceara enhanced her hearing beyond what it already was to listen in even beyond the walls. It wasn't needed—she could have just as easily heard the muffled and distinct sound of their voices had she focused by herself—but she didn't want to miss anything that either Kouen, or Koumei, by the looks of it, would say to Alibaba to convince him of whatever it was they wanted.

And Koumei, boy was he giving a flawless argument. And it was one Ceara had heard plenty of times from both brothers. The way Koumei was telling it to Alibaba, though, appeared to be much more forceful, as if to make him understand something he didn't seem to grasp. Almost like a parent reprimanding and teaching a child a lesson.

"He's quite a brat."

Ceara couldn't keep the chill that ran across her body when Kouen spoke, her delicate hearing uptaking way too much detail from someone so close and making her stop.

Brat. Ceara wouldn't deny he was young, perhaps some years younger than herself, but he was human too. That he believed in the world as he did, that the means didn't justify the end, didn't make him a brat. Just somewhat naive but brave all the same for believing in them when they lived in such world.

He's braver than me with how dauntlessly he voices his opinions.

And if anything, Ceara could admire one who didn't back down before authority. One who thought by themselves and didn't adhere to common sense regardless of whichever they happened to believe in. But the more their conversation went on, the more Ceara was beginning to realize that Koumei was cracking down on the boy.

The moment he questioned Alibaba for an answer and Kouen made his way to the door to reenter, Ceara followed suit, ignoring every household member that called out for her to remain outside. Being the last to enter, she closed the behind her so nobody would reach to bring her back out. Out of the three, only Koumei eyed her and even then it was for the briefest of moments. They weren't bothered by her intrusion it seemed. All the better for her honestly.

Facing Alibaba, she could see how distraught the poor thing was because of what Koumei had told him. He said he understood, that the talk did open his mind to a far wider point of view, but that he couldn't throw away all the small things for such greater good.

It was the never ending question with no answer: was it worth doing everything and anything in the present, even disregarding it, for a better future. It even got him to compare the Kou Empire with Al-Thamen, a name she hadn't heard before being used to refer to the organization. And then he let loose completely, letting the conviction in his beliefs bring him the confidence to speak out against Koumei and Kouen's views.

Ceara could very well see where these two seemed to fare, they wanted a better future, but they clearly differed in the how. Where Koumei saw logic and prosperity for the future, Alibaba saw honesty and compassion for the present.

What tore at her was that she agreed with both. Having studied under Koumei, she comprehended the need for a better future, but like Alibaba she had fought with tooth and nail to safeguard the people now. She couldn't agree with only one because her conscious didn't allow her to disregard either completely.

Her train of thought got derailed when Kouen disregarded him completely, telling him that simply by barking nothing would change. He wasn't wrong but he certainly wasn't making things any better. Ceara had certainly expected this kind of callousness from Kouen and even saw the underlying threat of harm also coming, but this was driving the kid against a corner. He was tearing Alibaba piece by piece until he agreed, and she had seen this done before and hated it every time. Inclusion through force never worked for the better; it reigned through fear and power. And she knew fear and power could only control a person for so long. All Kouen was doing with his words was wrapping a rope lightly around Alibaba's neck and letting the boy decide whether to jump or simply teeter on the edge to survive.

It shouldn't be like this.

Ceara knew the two of them would be furious with what she wanted to do. All the same, though, she ignored that logical part of her for a moment and took a step forward. The moment she did the unease that showed in Alibaba's eyes lessened a small bit. Good, at least he felt less threatened by her.

"I understand where you are coming from, Alibaba," she began with a small smile, approaching him enough to hopefully block off his view of the two brothers behind her. "Balbadd, this country and it's people, is like a family to you. The fierceness and desire to protect your people is something I can comprehend. I protect my own and those I cherish with the same dedication. And I must admit that in the effort to do so I have done things I am not proud of, horrible things that I regret doing."

Many indeed. She paused briefly to let those thoughts come and go, but as another surfaced, her hands came to rest on the sword at her side and the necklace that laid upon her bosom. "But when I think of my sister's smile or my brother's laughter, I understand the necessity for sacrifices."

"You condone this oppression and erasure?" he asked somewhat incredulous.

"Not fully," she replied frankly. "But I do what I can to not let everything be gone when the unified world comes to be. I came to terms a long time ago that there is no such thing as a peaceful world without sacrifice. And sometimes drastic changes are needed so that as many of those sacrifices can be avoided."

"What you're doing is sacrificing the few for the good of the many," he explained, at this point he himself trying to make her see something she didn't appear to. "Those few matter just as much!"

He's right.

"And it's a deficit that I fight to ameliorate because I know it cannot be fully remedied. Like you, I don't agree with the methods, especially the forcefulness that their highnesses are using to influence your answer. After all, your alliances clearly lie elsewhere with King Sinbad. And I'm sure he does seem like this brilliant man capable of anything which is what makes you hesitate." But this king isn't what he seems. At least that that was what she felt because after having met the man and seen how he ployed, it was clear that he had something clearly hidden behind those smiles. And she couldn't think it was anything good.

Shaking the thought aside and smiling at Alibaba, she stepped forward placing her hand on his shoulder and meeting his eyes, "But I assure you, by joining this cause you will be working towards the betterment of your own people and for Balbadd as a whole now and in the future. And in the process of helping Balbadd, you will be aiding us on a much bigger and brighter future for the world itself."

As she finished, though, Alibaba's gaze fell from her own. "I understand what trying to tell me. But even so…"

Ceara felt a bit surprised that he hadn't budge as much as she'd hoped. It had been plainly obvious that Kouen and Koumei were instigating him because they wanted him on Kou's side. And although she couldn't tell why exactly, she didn't want his free will robbed from him because of their coercion. But he refused to choose them.

And I've done all I can to make this transition easier. Because despite whatever Alibaba thought, Ceara knew that the two brothers, especially Kouen, would do anything to convince him.

"Enough of your petty arguments." Unsheathing his sword and aiming it at Alibaba, Ceara was forced back by the sheer presence of it. "Alibaba Saluja, become my right hand man."

There it is. And he didn't stop with that simple order. Kouen demanded he cut all ties with Sindria and join them as a general of the Kou Empire. And he was hitting the boy with everything he had, essentially breaking him to pieces like she feared he would. And the final blow just destroyed him.

"Fine," Kouen called, giving him his back. "You can live the rest of your life under Sinbad, if you want. And you can also forget everything about Balbadd."

He won't. To live under someone's shadow and forget everything of what made him who he was—

"If you just say 'follow me'...then I don't have any other choice..."

"Unbelievable…" she muttered under her breath walking up to one of the chairs around the table and taking a seat. And here she had thought that the boy would amount to more. He had the power, he had the right values, but he seriously lacked conviction in himself.

"You cannot judge the circumstances of another," Beleth told her. "Whatever he's been through—"

Is honestly none of my business. But as things stood now, it didn't matter either way. Koumei was already setting down their conditions for his joining them. Cut ties with Sindria, present a concrete and presently lacking viewpoint for ruling Balbadd, and marry into the Ren family .

That last one caught her off guard. And it bothered her even more when Kougyoku's name came forth. Unable to sit still as they threw her name around for such thing, Ceara rose purposefully making her way to Kouen. But before she could even raise her voice to debate the usage of his sister—what was more a general he himself named—Koumei stopped her.

"You've done enough."

His words and the stare he gave her kept Ceara at bay. They clearly hadn't appreciated her speaking up and without even saying a thing seemed to have agreed on keeping her from interfering any further.

Thankfully, Alibaba wasn't enthuse about the arrangement either. Ceara hadn't been wrong at thinking he had the right values with how against having concubines he was. The sudden subject of being called a 'cherry boy' clearly took its toll and out of nowhere, Kouen let out a massive laugh that echoed and made Ceara cover her ears from how loud it had been. With Kouen's crude comment afterwards, Alibaba equipped his Amon's sword, threatening to attack him but was luckily stopped by Koumei who immediately ushered him out of the council room.

Once out, Koumei came back and closed the doors behind himself before heaving a sigh. "He is a capable person that we can use."

"I agree." Ceara couldn't fathom how they could speak so freely even with her there but it didn't seem to bother them in the slightest that she was clearly in earshot of their conversation. They kept talking and she merely listened closely.

So that was it: they wanted Alibaba to bring Aladdin to their side. The two had seemed close when she met them in Magnostadt but they must be very good friends if they believed he would follow with Alibaba on their side.

"As for you." Ceara raised from her seat the moment she heard Kouen's stern tone directed at her. "It appears I greatly overestimated you. I knew you were naive but to ally yourself to his idiotic ideals is something that I didn't think you capable of doing."

"Just because they're simplistic in your eyes doesn't make them naive."

"It's not just simplistic," Koumei corrected with a tilt of his head. "It's ignorant. And I thought you would understand what is truly at stake and what there is to gain from all this because of what you've gone through."

Kouen turned to her with an eyebrow raised, looking rather peeved before letting out a deep sigh. "Is this how you convince those you conquer?"

He wasn't the only one. "You've known this since I took over General Koujiro's army. I do admit that I sometimes found myself using violence and force to accomplish my tasks but I never did so with pleasure and seldom saw them as absolute control. People should be allowed the freedom to choose, not forced to submission."

Unable to keep it to himself, Kouen scoffed with a shake of his head. "You're beginning to sound as idiotic as Alibaba. Surely you'd fit best with Sindria and that king, Sinbad, as well."

Where the hell did that kind of childish jab come from? In spite of knowing how low that was and that she shouldn't even consider answering, her annoyance that was quickly starting to turn for the worse controlled her and got her to raise her voice.

"King Sinbad sounded like a formidable man and a terrifying force." Her tone suddenly turned sour, remembering the ill feeling she'd gotten when she met those eyes of melted gold. "But he's a man that hides too much behind smiles. And I've seen my share of liars and deceivers to justify my hate for them."

Kouen was quick to retort. "And you're no different. Frankly, had I not known you, I would say you spun that talltale about your siblings for the sake of convincing that brat. And whether it was true or not, it wouldn't have made a difference."

Hearing that made something in Ceara snap. For a second she saw nothing but white and felt her body moving still as it drove her forth, lifting her hand and bringing it down with force. As her vision returned, her stark blue eyes glared at crimson tinted gold, his head unmoving despite the hard blow she'd given with her open hand against his cheek.

But as anger corroded her mind, making her eyes sting, she corrected him on the absurd suggestion he just made. "You can question my judgment, my ethics, and even where my loyalties lie where you and this empire are concerned all you want. You can call me anything you want because I assure you there's nothing you can say that hasn't been spat at me before. But don't you dare—" her quiet hiss turning to a louder snarl "—don't you ever dare question the love and fidelity I have for them." Too livid to think straight, Ceara stormed out of the council room leaving in her wake nothing but silence.

---

Blissful quiet.

Rakah had forgotten a long time ago what that was like. Nothing but the quiet of nature entered the room he was in while he awaited for its owner to come back. As he did, his fingers fidgeted with the small magic item that hung around his neck hidden beneath his clothes. The small, crystal sphere bore nothing but Light magic that glowed a faint gold after being half-used. He seriously hated borrowed magic but there was no other way to travel aside from her magic. At least she was still on his side and he could use her to refill it whenever he was close to running out.

How useful that small sparrow turned out to be. And easy to work with too.

The same could be said about this little Speirr. Just as the thought of her came to mind, the doors to the room got thrown open before getting slammed closed with as much force before the little girl burst into the bedroom.

And she looked beyond furious the instant her eyes met his. That look lasted a single breath before she stormed away from him to the opposite side of the room. "Get the hell out of here. I don't feel like talking."

"Seems like it," he agreed with a scoff. Not fearing for his life like he knew he should have at meeting an angry woman, Rakah stood from leaning against her bed and walked her way. "What happened?"

"Leave, Rakah. Now," she snarled but couldn't hide the tears that sprung from the corners of her eyes.

Oh, little lamb is hurt. It didn't look like something meaningless either. Rakah could guess a couple of things that could make her mad enough to the point of crying. And he gave his most likely guess a shot. "Was it that prince?"

Feeling the hit that came, Rakah stepped back to avoid her punch before she shouted, "Shut up!"

"It was him," he said, realizing he'd guessed correctly. But it didn't seem to be just about him. "Did he badmouth you? Or was it them?"

"You have ten seconds before I throw you out. Ten." The eight-pointed star on her bracelet shone as her hands became enveloped in the dark energy from Marbas' powers, the powers even starting to change her features as her incisors grew. "One."

"Calm down, now." But she didn't listen and lurched forward instead. Easy to read but knowing she would destroy half the place if he let it go by, Rakah called forth his own powers, enveloping his hands the same way hers were before taking her attack head on. Clasping her hands against his, he nulled her magic with his essentially breaking her out of the half djinn-equip she'd gotten into. Startled that it was gone but still angry, she jerked her hands trying her hardest to break away from his grip. "Now listen and relax, Ceara," he whispered as she continued struggling. He kept repeating those words until she only struggled a few times. Rakah could tell she was still in a rage, he could see it clearly in her eyes, but at least she was listening.

"Now, what happened?"

"He's an arrogant asshole."

Whoa. It still baffled him every time he heard such vulgarities out of her mouth, especially when before all he would hear were sweet, meek words. This wasn't that. And with the pieces that presented themselves now, he needed to work with them. "Let me guess," he said lowering both their hands, "he said something about your siblings."

Yanking her hands, she broke away from him and began pacing the room to let her anger boil out. But it didn't seem to be enough as she began kicking at walls and the furniture around her. "He's the idiot that insinuated that I used them for sympathy!" she screeched. "All I did was tell the truth and he derides me for doing so."

Good. Both of them were playing against each other. It made his job much simpler. "And it's how you always do things, isn't it?" She didn't answer; she just kept pacing around, occasionally kicking at the wall. "He doesn't understand you. The way you do good is by advocating for the lesser evil. And even then you're better at it than most I've seen. Those two claim to do good for the sake of the future and leave you and the rest to deal with the vermin that infests the present."

That comment seemed to make her slow down a bit as her head lowered and her arms came up to warp around herself. "And even when I told him, he doesn't understand. It's just not right for the people like her, like those bastards from this parliament, or anybody else to be allowed to do such horrendous things without any consequences."

Contradict then advocate.

"What about you?" he asked. "Where's your due punishment?"

"I lost their trust and love," she instantly responded. "I'm left alone without them. Sousei was right; this is the worse punishment. But those others?"

Rakah nodded. "They're allowed to do all those things because they fit into the hierarchy of this empire's rule. And you're right, none of them will be punished because, let's face it, why would a prince care? After all, he let Masami go, right?"

"Yeah."

Oh beautiful. He needed to spin it more. Better. Tighter. Just enough to have her where he wanted her. "He let her leave and take them?"

"He did."

"And he's beginning to let you fall as well, just like he's done that other boy. I'm sorry, Speirr, but you have to face the truth. He doesn't care about you; he never did."

"He..." Her voice drawled as her gaze left his and went past him towards her bed. Rakah couldn't stop her as she sidestepped him to reach her bedside table. He turned to see her taking a silver carnation hair comb from where it laid atop the table.

Slowly, Rakah saw how the anger began to leave her eyes and started being replaced by confusion. He watched her as he backed up and sat at the edge of her bed, holding the piece tightly in her hands with her eyes closed and lips pursed, deep in thought.

He walked closer to her and reached out to touch her. "Ceara?"

Before he even reached her, she shot up completely ignoring him and left the room. As she left, Rakah didn't feel the malice or anger follow her like he had when she had arrived. Instead, all he felt was turmoil in her wake; a confusion that she was fighting to understand. Damn it. With her anger leaving, those ideas from before didn't have enough time to fully plant themselves in her mind. Something about that stupid comb made her think twice about her ire. Uncertainty haunted her still.

She wasn't as isolated as Rakah had thought she had been. Here he thought that driving those brats out of her life would be enough. He hadn't accounted for the relationships she had built there with the imperial family. Rakah needed her completely isolated for this to work.

And she won't be unless I break her conviction in them. But that was doable, especially when he'd seen what pitting their contradicting beliefs did. And seeing how easily it had been for them to fall out on their own, Rakah could simply factor out the commonality that triggered her and use that.

He only needed to set the pieces in place like before and let her play it out. And he had just the pawn to do his work for him again.

"Don't worry, Ceara," he whispered to himself. "You'll see I'm right. Just like little sparrow, you'll call for my help. And I'll be here to answer when no one else will."

---

Still panting heavily, Ceara stood back for a moment to let herself breathe, the sweat running down her body as she undid Marbas' equip. There were no widespread woods near Balbadd, but the outside barracks that were rarely used at that time had to do. No one had gone to bother her. It surprised her that she hadn't even seen Seijin or Parisa hovering over her like before. But surely they must've been told not to after she ran out of the council room.

After hours of mindlessly bashing things with Marbas, Ceara had finally cleared her anger-clouded mind. And without it, she had been able to think straight about what had happened that afternoon. She didn't quite understand why their bantering started. Sure, perhaps he had been mad about her crude interruption with Alibaba but had he been, he would have stopped her the instant she opened her mouth. Instead, Kouen had let her speak and she had done so without restriction to whatever result that had given.

But as their conversation had gone on, it took turns that she didn't understand no matter how many times she replayed their exchange. Their bickering had been like two children fighting over nothing.

"It certainly sounded like it." Beleth pointing that out didn't help. "And your reaction did seem a bit…"

"Don't say it," she urged, hiding her face behind her hands.

"Oh, I will!" Marbas called out. "Over the top, over reacting, unnecessary—"

"I get it!" she exclaimed and fell back against the floor. Pursing her lips, she glanced up at the sky that was changing in color as dusk began to fall and clouds began to quickly roll by.

After hours of thinking it over, she hated that she agreed with them. She'd been so overcome with anger and the bitter grief that resurfaced at his misplaced comment that she acted without thinking. She hadn't even known what she'd done until after it was over. And even then her emotions drove her past it to talk back too.

Ceara wouldn't deny that his words hadn't hurt or that it had been right for him to say them—it hadn't—but she hadn't done any better by hurting him. In fact, she felt that she stooped lower by doing that. Times like these when she couldn't control her emotions were the times that she doubted Murmur's sanity.

Vainglory, champions, ferocity, and nature I get but innocence and martyrdom?

It didn't make sense to her.

But their choices seldom made sense to her; they were djinn that nobody knew anything about. Her own choices were beginning to seem muddy even. Was she really doing the right thing? Why had she even gained these powers? What the hell was she even using them for?

"That's an answer only you have, little lamb," Beleth replied. "And whatever it may be, rest assured that it will be true so long as it comes from you."

So long as it came from her…

Why and for what do I have these powers?

Not to fight. Not to conquer. She wasn't like them; she knew that from the bottom of her heart. But she felt like she had answered that question before. Many times, actually.

To protect those I love.

Is that the right thing to do with them?

As a king vessel, should she be like those others she'd met and try to lead people into better things? Be like Sinbad and create a country or like Kouen and lead her own people to a better future or even like Alibaba who fought for what he believed.

No, that wasn't right. That was them. That wasn't her.

Whenever she had any power, Ceara would use it to help herself and those who needed it. With Beleth, she had been able to help Koujiro fight and reduce casualties in the Southern Army. With Marbas, she been able to help her own sanity by being able to be herself. With Murmur…

I killed.

No, she did more than just that. With Murmur, Ceara had learned the value of life. She learned the value of death. And she learned to forgive and move forward.

I learned to live.

And living meant making mistakes and learning from them. Ceara knew she made a mistake by acting without thinking, by letting her emotions take over her. By acting like she wasn't still hurting from the twins leaving her.

And she needed to learn from those mistakes.

The roar of thunder surprised her somewhat as the storm that came out of the blue quickly took over the once orange skies to let a pour fall. Staring up at the now darkened sky, Ceara let the droplets that fell drench her to the bone, liking how the coolness somewhat soothed her aching muscles.

And when someone makes a mistake they should apologize.

That was as good a start as anything. Brushing her wet hair back and grabbing the hair comb tightly in her hand, Ceara ran out of the open barracks towards the first place she had in mind. To her surprise, though, the study was empty. Or so she thought until a familiar silhouette came out from behind one of the shelves.

"What do you want?" Oh, yeah. Koumei was indeed mad at her for what had happened, too. And he had a right to be.

"Where is he?"

"You really expect me to tell you after what you did this afternoon?"

"Look, I'll talk things out with you later. I promise," she said, childishly raising her hand, "but right now, I really need to talk with your brother first."

"I doubt talking is the only thing you'll do," he retorted.

"I'm sorry about that," she replied. "I really am, and I want to tell him that. Now, would you please tell me where he is?"

Koumei hesitated for a moment, his gaze askance, before he sighed and came to meet her eyes again while rubbing the back of his neck. "What a pain you are. He's in his bedchambers."

"Thank you, Mei," she muttered before spinning on her heels, slipping a bit from her wet shoes, before taking off towards the Eastern side of the palace. Thankfully, the layout of the royal edifices anywhere was mostly alike which made it easier for her to get to his bedchambers.

As expected, though, she could see his household members standing guard for their imperial prince. And she doubted they were going to let her through even if she asked.

But desperate times, right Bele?

"They are household members, my king. This might be bit harder."

Sliding off to the side before she even got close to them, she took her feather-pen and weapon-equipped. "...let's try then…" she whispered before ringing her staff and letting her own voice mix in as she hummed. She rarely practiced with her sound magic to control others, mostly animals, but never really had done it with people. But as she hummed, her only thought was to pacify them enough to make them impressionable. After a few seconds of that, Ceara took the risk and stepped out before going straight to them. As she came closer she noted that it was En Shou and Shuu Kokuton standing guard but their usual alertness seemed cloudy. Close enough to the door to reach it, Ceara extended hers hand slowly to open the door but gasped when En Shou's arm shot out rather languidly.

It was working but they were still somewhat alert.

"It's okay," she whispered between her humming. "I just want to speak to him." Reaching up, she lowered his arm slowly and it surprised her that he complied so easily. Careful not to get spook like that again, she opened and walked through the door before closing it behind her. Once she noticed the antechamber was empty, she made her way, staff still in hand, towards the bedchamber doors. Taking one of the handles in her hand, she slowly began sliding the door open but the moment she got the full thing across, a flash of steel crossed her vision a half second after she heard it whistle through the air. Instinctively, she brought her staff up to block the sword that had been aimed at her neck.

The instant her stark blue eyes met crimson tinted gold, she heard the loudest groaned of annoyance she'd ever heard from Kouen.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Despite the odd encounter—partly because of her sense of urgency—Ceara cut right to the chase. "I came to talk."

He groaned again before letting his sword fall and eyeing the door that led outside of the antechamber. "What did you do to En Shou and Shuu Kokuton?" Lifting her staff meekly, she gave him a small smile as the rings hit each other making the soft noise. This time he sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Undo it."

"F-Fine," she muttered and undid her weapon-equip. A solid minute after that, the doors to his antechamber opened brusquely as both household members hunched over to enter the room in a rush, nasty looks directed at her.

"We apologize, young master," En Shou said first and foremost with a bow. "We will rid you of this intruder."

"Forget it." Ceara couldn't have been gladder that she wouldn't be manhandled by them. "Return to your post. I'll deal with her." The two household members gave each other a sidelong glance before bowing and excusing themselves, closing the door behind them.

Turning to thank him, Ceara instead watched as Kouen walked back to the inside of his room. Following suit, she had to take a moment to admire the luxurious bedchambers that he had. The bedroom itself was far larger than any other she'd seen in the whole palace and the same could be said about the bed itself. Some other doors were to one side of the room, surely leading further into the chambers. A large array of shelves stood against the other wall along with a desk that had a lit oil lamp and scroll spread across it.

"You were reading." It had been the reason why she had gone to the study first. "Why aren't you—"

"I don't need a reason," he quickly said, shutting her down. "And I knew that it would be the first place you would go to."

"You did?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

Kouen only glanced over his shoulder before shaking his head and sighing. "You said you're here to talk?"

"Yes," she instantly spoke up coming closer as he went to the desk. "I wanted to…" Her words quickly died in her throat though the moment the light hit his face. A reddish mark marred the left side of his face and the sight of it made her feel horrible. Reaching out without thinking, she pursed her lips as she laid her fingers gently on his cheek. Tender still from being a few hours old, Ceara barely got the fleeting of his eyes as they landed on her hand.

Unable to form any other words, she simply let herself talk. "...I'm sorry." Sliding her hand against his cheek, she could feel the warmth against her cool palm.

He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You didn't seem apologetic before."

She grimaced taking her hand back before answering. "Let me explain—"

"Do," he simply said while setting his sword aside and leaning against the desk with arms crossed over his chest.

Taking a deep breath, she let her thoughts sort themselves out a bit before speaking. "What I did...I shouldn't have. Not because you're the prince but simply because...I shouldn't have. I didn't mean my anger to get so out of hand. I didn't even realize what came over me until afterwards."

"What about what you said?"

"What I said?"

He nodded. "Does this mean you retract what you said as well?"

"Excuse me?" she said springing forward a bit annoyed, her semblance of regret somewhat gone. "I wasn't the one that went overboard with the remark about my siblings."

"You were the one that resorted to violence."

"And I'm apologizing for that." Ceara stopped briefly to take a deep breath. "It was my mistake and I see that now; I shouldn't have, especially in front of Koumei, no matter how mad I was. But I won't back out of what I said. For as much of the wrong I hold, you also hold some of it. And don't say you don't because we both know you do."

Staring her directly in the eye for a moment, Ceara had to hold her ground against him again. She was sorry about what had happened but she wasn't going to back down on what she said. She had meant every word.

"You're an idiot" was all he replied with before standing straight and pointing at the chair. When she only stared quizzically at it, he sighed heavily before saying, "Sit." It struck her as odd but as he went off to do something else, she took a sit on the chair, with her legs out to the one side facing the desk with the chair's back to her left. Skimming the scrolls on the desk for a second, she saw some annotations on a map before her whole vision was obscured by something soft and somewhat heavy landing over her head and face. When she struggled to turn or stand, she only felt steady hands holding her down. "Stay put."

She opted to listen and it was then that she felt his hands rubbing the towel over her head, her hair going every which way as he did that.

"I knew you would recognize what you had done wrong; that you had overdone it." Ceara didn't move as he began talking, his hands moving slower around her head. "And I also knew you wouldn't retract what you said regardless of what I told you."

"Really?" But he didn't answer that. Instead, though, she asked, "So are you mad?"

"The only reason I am is because you forgot months of work and let your emotions get the best of you," he explained. "You need to learn."

"I know," she murmured to herself, lowering her head and turning his hair comb in his hands. "But it's like it gets harder the more I try. The only thing that seems to have gotten better is how fast I calm down afterwards. So I took my time to cool off and started thinking. About a lot of things actually. And I know what I did wrong, what I regret and what I don't, and what I need to learn from this."

"Good." There was quiet for a moment making Ceara think he was done but she heard his voice as he started once more. "I will admit that I also made a mistake. I shouldn't have said what I did."

"About?" she inquired wanting to be sure of what he was apologizing for.

"Resorting to childish bickering, those comments about Sindria's king," he said as if he could recalled the conversation like she could from thinking about it so much. "But mostly about the twins."

"I accept your apology."

"And I yours," he muttered before lifting the towel off of her before leaving her again. Ceara glanced over her shoulder as her hands mindlessly put her hair back in place however she could, following his broad back as he went about doing whatever he was doing. She seldom saw him so relaxed except at the study. But this was different somehow.

Turning fully around, she took a gander at what was in front of her. Plenty of books and scrolls with one in particular catching her attention. Standing up to the shelve, her hand had already reached out before she knew what she was doing and began skimming through the pages of short rhymes until a very familiar one caught her eye.

"Star light, star bright…" Ceara chuckled as she murmured the rest under her breath.

"You have no sense of privacy, do you?"

Ceara smiled at Kouen as an apology but came back to read the rhyme in her head again. "It just caught my attention. Cael use to read this to me. He said our mother read it to him. And from that, I read it to Sou and Sui when they were little, too…" Clearing her throat and breathing deeply, she looked up to him. "Why do you have this?"

"Memory's sake," he just said, taking the book and instead giving her a set of robes. "Go and change. Being soaked will only get you sick." Somewhat confused but following as he showed her somewhere she could change privately, Ceara took her time to do so.

She had forgotten about that. Her clothes hadn't even felt heavy. But as she changed into the simple white robes, she felt herself shivering and her teeth chattering a bit from having been soaked to the bone from the rain that had unexpectedly fallen on her. The clothes were a bit big; she had managed to adjust one so that it would fit her decently well despite the chest being a tad big for her. The other she couldn't change no matter how much she tried so instead she wore it over loosely, off the shoulders since it kept slipping anyway and having to push back the sleeves at times since they were longer.

Once out, Kouen didn't bother turning to her as he sat at his desk back at work apparently. What she did notice though was the extra chair that hadn't been there before she left—it actually resembled the ones she had glanced at out in the antechamber—and on the seat was the nursery rhyme book. Ceara didn't bother announcing herself as she walked over and took the book's place by Kouen's side.

Out of curiosity, although she had an inkling of suspicion, Ceara lifted her hands showing him how the robes fit her a little big. "Where did you get these from?"

"You shouldn't ask questions you don't want answers to."

True.

One set of clothes were female, after all, and she really didn't want to know why he had them in his room. So instead she went back to reading the small book. As she skimmed through the pages again, whispering a few rhymes that she recognized, she felt calm and at peace now that all that had happened had been sorted out. But it was with one of the two she had to apologize to.

"I shouldn't be here," she muttered aloud. "Koumei's still mad at me."

"How did you know I was here in the first place?" he asked instead, not lifting his gaze from the scrolls and map in front of him. She went on to tell him about finding Koumei in the study when she went out looking for him and how his brother had reluctantly told him about his whereabouts. "Koumei told you for a reason. He won't stay mad for long."

"Still," she drawled on, setting the book aside and picking her knees up to lay her head against them. "I'll find him tomorrow and apologize."

"You won't be able to."

"Why not?"

Kouen left aside what he was doing to briefly look at her. "Tomorrow we depart for the summit."

That's right. She had forgotten about that. But the fact that Sindria had sent an ambassador already should have clued her in on that. It would take a full three days to reach that desolate island. And Balbadd would be left to the government to run while its governor was absent. Kouen would be taking everybody who served him: his brother, his household members, and some military. And from what she had heard around the palace, a certain corp that had agreed to be on their side.

"And you will be accompanying us as well."

A chill ran down her spine at hearing those words. She didn't know why but every time she heard word of that meeting, her blood would run cold and a fear would grapple at her chest. Every time, she thought it was her gut feeling but a part of her knew it wasn't. This was worse.

"I don't want to go."

This time it was Kouen who was confused about her words. "It's not a choice—"

"No, you don't understand," Ceara muttered, raising her head to meet his eyes. She really didn't want to go. "I-I have a bad feeling about going there. I don't believe anything bad will happen to you or Koumei or the others but…" The chill came over her again and she wrapped her arms around her legs, huddling closer onto herself. "I can't explain why but this feeling I have won't leave me. It's there and it makes me afraid about being there."

"We have taken precautions against everything that could happen."

"I believe you." Ceara gave him a small smile but shook her head all the same. "But I believe myself more. If I go there...something bad will happen." Chuckling nervously, she placed the book on the desk not noticing at first how her hands were shaking. "I wanted to go and see Aladdin, too, and hear his story. But I think it's better if I stay behind. If it's all right with you, though, may Seijin go in my place?"

"Seijin?"

"He'll be my eyes and ears. I want to know what Aladdin wants to say but I—" Ceara stopped briefly to focus on her hands to get them to stop shaking. "—I can't bring myself to go."

By the looks of it, Kouen didn't want to agree. But she couldn't make herself do what every part of her told her not to, no matter how much she wanted to be there to listen to Aladdin's story. After all, Murmur did say long ago that the little boy was important to all of the djinn, and to her own 'existence.' She had always been curious as to what he'd meant by that. And this had been a grand opportunity to speak with him about it. Yet, she wouldn't go. She couldn't.

Finally, Kouen let out a heavy sigh, leaning his chin against his hand as his arm rested on the armrest. "I don't see a need for such precaution but...fine. If you're that adamant about it."

Ceara couldn't keep the smile from her face. "Thanks, En."

After a couple more hours of quiet or mindless talks, she left his chambers to let him rest and returned to her own, telling her youngest household member about what had been decided.

"Me go?" he called out quite shocked about the news. "B-But why? I thought Prince Kouen would be taking you on the convoy to the summit meeting."

"I declined." And there was no more elaboration as to the why. "But you're the most perfect person I can think of to go in my place. Especially because of your gift." Seijin stammered at hearing that, his ears getting a bit colored which made Parisa chuckle. Placing her hands on his shoulders to reassure him, Ceara gave him a smile. "Be my eyes and ears in that place. Can I entrust you that, Jin."

After he got over his mild embarrassment, he returned the smile before nodding. "You can, master. I will go there in your place."

"Then I guess I'll stay here with the lady of Ériu."

"Parisa?" Seijin questioned with the same confusion that Ceara felt at hearing her say her name. Despite knowing what Seijin had told Parisa, Ceara hadn't spent long with her. She was a brilliant magician which made her wonder why she stayed by her side even after she was all better.

"You don't have to," Ceara told her. "The two weeks have passed, after all. I'm better now."

"Yeah but I'm curious," she replied with a cute grin. "Seijin trusts you. And although I haven't known either of you for long, well, to put it like Jin did, I feel like I'm supposed to be here. So I'm going to run along with that and stay for a little bit longer. Would that be a problem?"

Ceara couldn't contain the small chuckle that escaped her. She certainly didn't understand their way of thinking but would gladly accept their requests if that was what they wanted. "None with me, Parisa."

The three spent some time to discuss what would happen on the morrow: Seijin would depart with Kouen and the fleet that were headed to the summit, Parisa would remain to act as her interim retainer, and Ceara would remain as well taking care of Balbadd and it's needs even if she wasn't the one appointed to them.

That next morning Ceara, along with Parisa, accompanied Seijin to the docks for departure. Once again she felt ill, not out of health but out of the foreboding that lingered. Taking the cuff earing to keep safe for him, Ceara stepped back as Seijin went to the side of Kouen's household.

"Please take care of him," she called out to them with a small grin.

"Don't fret, general." Ri Seishuu clapped Seijin's back a little too hard as he grinned back. "He could be in no better hands."

She didn't doubt that. Several ships were being taken to the meeting. By the looks of it, Alibaba's household and companions would board a separate ship from himself as she saw him get to the ship she stood in front of alongside Kouen and Koumei.

The boy couldn't have looked more distraught. The three of them stopped before her and Parisa while the troops informed Kouen that everything was ready and set to go.

Taking a deep breath, Ceara met each with a smile before bowing. "May your voyage be safe and swift, your highnesses." Once she stood straight, Ceara came forth to have a little more sense of privacy as she addressed each one of them.

First, she turned to Alibaba. "I know this isn't the easiest decision but I hope you choose what you believe best."

After, she came to face Koumei who she could tell was still quite cross with her. All she could do to appease him for the time being was show him a genuine smile. "I'm sorry about what happened. And I hope you take care of your brother and everybody like you always do."

Lastly, her stark blue eyes met crimson tainted gold and her smile curved the slightest at one end. "Be safe."

Please return. All of you.

Kouen was the only one to answer her. "We will be." The three then walked past her without another glance to board the ship. Parisa stood by her as Ceara watched them leave a few minutes afterwards, the sinking feeling in her gut never leaving her.

This bad feeling, even without being on board, still gnawed at her. Her eyes glanced down at her open palm where Seijin's household vessel rested. Was it a mistake to send him? Should I have broken the rules and given him his vessel to protect himself?

"He doesn't know how to use it," Marbas said a bit saddened to hear her so troubled.

"And without Murmur," Beleth begun with a stern tone to his voice, "he cannot activate it."

They're right. And even if she had Murmur and Seijin knew how to use the household vessel, breaking the rules of that meeting wouldn't have been worth the massive war it would possibly cause. It annoyed her that having all the power she did, Ceara could still be scared of some misgiving. All this anxiety because of that...it surely meant nothing. Surely, she was just overreacting.

Please let that be so.

Cradling the vessel in her closed palm, she prayed out to whatever was out there to protect them. Protect them of whatever threat would come their way.

Please be there when I cannot be. Bring them back to me safely. All of them.

---

This did not bode well.

As of twelve days ago, since their arrival to the capital, there had been no communication with the ninth base of Southern Tenzan Plateau front-line. The garrisons that ran along the southwestern part of the plateau, just shy of the shores around Rakushou, fell under the Reizei Household jurisdiction and as such Sousei had done what his father and si—what the two of them had always done upon arrival to any base: check on all frontlines. So far most of the bases south of Shika had responded yet there was still no answer from the ninth base.

"Sousei?" Sighing from frustration of the issues he was dealing with, Sousei tried to calm himself as he turned to Masami who had concern etched on her expression. "Is everything all right?"

"No," he replied seamlessly. "Bases aren't responding."

"Surely there must be a reason," she assured him, walking up to the map that laid before him with bases she recognized from her days as strategists plus new ones along the southwestern parts near the Tenzen Plateau.

"And I'll find out what it is." Storming out, he came to the captains under his command that stood guard at Shika. Ordering from the resources he had, Sousei mustered a battalion large enough, maybe thirty men, to be able to deal with any problems that might be present or that could abscond if the need came to be. His orders were simple: recognisance only. Attack if the need arose but no sooner. And lastly, be sure to return and report back.

The trip there and back should have lasted three days from Shika from where the troops departed.

It was already five and no word from or sign of them had been reported back. This definitely did not bode well. And it was getting harder to think of what to do. He couldn't reach Prince Kouen and neither could he get an audience with Empress Gyokuen. The war council that resided in Rakushou only sent men like he did and received the same results. Something was not right.

"You mustn't push yourself, Sousei," Masami reminded him. The three of the siblings kept together in her room out of necessity for some privacy. Sousei paced the room incessantly while Suisei watched just as impatiently, both trying to think of what to do. "More than four battalions have been sent and none have returned. You cannot work this by yourself."

"This happened in our jurisdiction," he corrected her. "I have to think of a way."

"Sucks that we don't have the power to go there ourselves," Suisei muttered under her breath.

Masami was the first to speak at even overhearing that. "You don't need those powers. She manipulated you with the idea of strength through powers she controlled."

"Enough. Both of you." His two sisters remained quiet and averted their gazes as he continued thinking of what to do. But that train of thought quickly became mute when the alarm bells began to ring all across the palace.

Instinctively as the people began to shout outside, all three siblings ran up to the window to witness the monstrosities that began to appear amid the once blue skies, tainting it a darker hue. And from what Sousei could see, soldiers rode the beasts that emerged from the dark skies. Before any of them could do anything, however, images began flashes through his head of different people—Empress Gyokuen, Prince Hakuryuu, and of the fire that ravaged the capital almost a decade ago—before Hakuryuu's voice echoed in throughout the palace.

"I'm here to kill the traitor who greedily devoured this country, Ren Gyokuen! I will cut down anyone who will get in my way! But if there are those who want to exact vengeance with me then...raise your swords!"

"Traitor?" Suisei repeated, grabbing at her head from the pain she surely felt too.

"He's causing a revolt!?" Masami exclaimed unable to believe such thing.

And he wasn't alone—Judar, the holy priest from the organization, was with him. As the hordes of enemies began to land in the palace, from their place, Sousei could see how easily Hakuryuu's soldiers began to invade. Not wanting to remain there for another second and fearing for the safety of his sisters, Sousei took swords, passing one to each of them, before grabbing onto Masami's wrist to drag her along.

"Sousei?"

"We must get out of here." Pushing through the doors of the room, the three of them were ambushed by servants and maids, the innocent and ones unable to fight, running amok and heading for whatever exits they could find. But even with the early warning from their flashy arrival, Hakuryuu's soldiers were quickly encroaching the palace. Luckily, most of them were heading elsewhere.

"They're heading for the palace's inner sanctuary," Suisei pointed out as they headed through the side of the palace grounds.

Careful with Masami, he led the front to get them out of the palace while Suisei took the rear. They needed to protect each other no matter what came. He needed to get them out of there to safety.

Up from the rooftops of the outer grounds, Sousei stepped back, pushing Masami to Suisei, as soldiers dropped from above. They weren't just any normal soldiers, though, and that was more than clear by how manic they appeared.

Almost like—

"It can control people's minds? Sound magic is scary."

"Yes," he heard his sister's voice in his head remembering what she had done once while teaching him how to use sound magic with his household vessel. A harmless lecture that had turned into a fearful lesson when she opted to control a small snake with her powers, making it crawl to a pond just inches away from drowning itself. "But the scariest one is life magic, Sou. For as much as sound can control one mind, life magic is capable of controlling numerous minds by messing with its composition and it can also reach a greater number of people much easier than sound can. And it can be much more devastating as well."

"It's Hakuryuu's metal vessel," he muttered under his breath. As one of those crazed soldiers rushed to strike him, he took it calmly and avoided the lunge at him and struck him down instead, his arm drenched with the blood that poured from the wound. Taking his sword back, Sousei glanced back at Suisei and Masami who parried away the manic blows. Fighting them wouldn't work. They were no match for anything that was being forced to fight against its will. "Go, keep moving!"

Striking a few more down to open a path, he pushed Masami forth with Suisei leading as he kept the path clear from every side he could. But despite their low numbers, the ferocity with which they fought was relentless and it was quickly draining everything in them to fight and run. They were almost out of to the outer palace when they found themselves surrounded by more of those soldiers who blocked the one exit they were headed for.

"We can't run out of this one." Sousei brandished his sword, the blood on its sheen spilling in a straight line.

"Then we fight." Suisei held onto hers with a taut grip, taking her own stance despite the heaviness of her clothes drenched in blood.

Masami didn't reply but did take her own stance, preparing for the enemy to attack. The soldiers didn't hesitate, there was no patience or warning before they rushed towards them. Striking one after the other, Sousei couldn't help but feel the pain racking his body or the fear that ravaged his mind. Fighting his people, people more than likely controlled by magic, wasn't something he ever thought would have happen. It's the last thing he wanted to have happened. But nonetheless it did, and they were caught in the middle of a coup d'etat by their own prince.

It isn't right.

"Sou!"

Lost in his mind, Sousei missed the soldier that had lurched to attack him. Suisei's warning gave him enough time to react and step back, the blade slashing a straight line across his temple near his left eye and catching his left forearm as he brought his own sword up to block it too late. The momentum he lost, the enemy gained and took to his favor as he retracted his elbow to plunge the sword directly into his right shoulder. The pain hitting him and breaking the hold he had on his sword, Sousei fell back only to hear a loud cry before Masami blocked his view.

Sword brandished, she rushed forward and, with their statures being so disparate between her and the soldier, Masami managed to stab the blade through his neck, the blood spraying out as she pulled it out and the body falling before her. Her breathing heavy, Sousei watched in a hue of half-red as Masami came back to him, grabbing to secure him. Reaching his sword again with his left hand, Sousei couldn't manage the blade well with how blurry his vision was getting even with Masami trying to guide his strikes. Suisei was parrying well but the few blows that she kept receiving—the slashes all over her body tarnishing her—were piling up, making her stagger from the blood she was constantly losing. Backing up against Masami and him, Sousei felt her tight grip on his injured hand and winced.

The soldiers were fast approaching. They showed no remorse and no restraint. None of them could fight for any longer. They were going to be killed.

Shutting his eyes and grasping onto Suisei's hand as tightly as he could while leaning against Masami, he gave a small prayer that he never thought he would give.

I'm sorry, Haku-nee. I couldn't protect them. I love you. I love all of you.

"Rakah!"

Hearing Masami's voice pierce through the barbaric battle cries and screams of anguish, Sousei couldn't comprehend at first why or even what she had called out at the top of her lungs. Just as the words left her, though, a cyclone burst all around them, cocooning them and pushing every soldier back, enemy or ally. Masami held tightly onto them as the cyclone danced, covering their faces as the eye expanded until it left a large enough area for them. None could trespass the destructive winds, not even the ravaging soldiers that kept trying and trying only to be ripped into shreds.

"Well, well, well. Who here calls me?"

A voice lilting with every word made Sousei lift his head and catch the red-marred image of a young man that appeared before them. The blond man stood without a care in the eye of the cyclone, his plait swivelling every which way but his amethyst eyes never wavering and garnering the sight of them. But what unnerved him most was the large grin that he had splitting his face from ear to ear and making his eyes shine brighter.

"Help us!" Masami cried out still holding tightly to either of them. Sousei brought his face up and tried meeting the man's eyes but he only paid attention to Masami when she spoke.

"Help?" He scoffed and stood, his back straighter as he leaned back. "Now why would I do that?"

"Y-You helped me before," she shouted over the winds that thrashed around them yet never really touching them. "The poison—"

"Was not a gift." His correction made Masami tense up and Sousei had to force himself to pay attention to the man before him. "I gave you that poison in good faith, believing you would actually be capable of killing her. Now, I find out she's alive and well?" He clicked his tongue softly, as if chastising her, while shaking his head. "You did a poor job, Masami. And now you expect me to give again knowing your precedents of failure?" The grin from before appeared on his lips as he flicked his fingers and the cyclone around them began to quickly lose speed. "Sorry, darling. I'm a broker—businessman through and through. And as such I don't give anything for free. If you want my services, then tell me what you are willing to give in exchange."

Sousei couldn't help the gut wrenching feeling that twisted his insides at hearing him say that. He was playing fast and loose with her. But Masami spoke before he could even voice his fear and doubt about the man, making his heart race at the words she spoke.

"I'll do anything!" she shouted, tears running down her face as the cyclone was just about letting up. "So please, just save us—save them!"

A malicious glint darkened those amethyst eyes a second before he reached his hand down, wanting hers to shake. "That's what I love to hear." Sousei could do nothing to stop her as she reached her own hand out and grasped his tightly. Out of the blue, three strange rings of dark light hovered around their joined hands before shrinking against their hands and arms. Despite the light disappearing, the mark remained, letters or runes that he didn't recognize staining his sister's hand and arm.

Raising his other hand above his head, bright yellow light rings appeared above them, three of a kind and becoming smaller as they stacked skyward to surround them. A wicked grin on his face, the man brought his arm down onto the ground and a split second after lightning began striking down and killing off every soldier that came remotely close to them. The noise mingled with screams from his sisters and it deafened him as it continued on. But what seemed to last forever finally ended as the lightning struck no more.

Lifting his head, Sousei met with a gruesome scene: bodies upon bodies of soldiers—he didn't know whether friend or foe—dead and scorched by the ferocious bright purple lightning that had struck everywhere except where they were. They were unrecognizable and the fact that he had attacked so indiscriminately and carelessly didn't take away from the fact that whatever magic he had used had been powerful enough to deal with how many soldiers had littered those grounds.

"I've done my part." Sousei met the man's eyes briefly, the wide grin still on his lips, before he turned back to Masami. "Seeing as I have a summit to attend to, I'll come for my payment on a later time. For now—" He chuckled just a few seconds before his body began to become transparent, "—enjoy Emperor Hakuryuu's reign."

His barely visibly silhouette refracted, breaking into diagonal crystals before vanishing completely. Sousei had no time to question Masami because not a second later did the inner sanctuary explode sending a cloud of black smoke up to litter the sky.

"The palace…" Suisei mumbled, holding tightly onto both his hand and her sword but both shaking all the same. "The empress. What has Hakuryuu done?"

"It doesn't matter." Sousei flinched as Masami moved from around them, his injured arm pulsating in pain and his vision blurrying by the second. "We'll get ahead of what's to come and survive." Despite her brave statement, though, Sousei felt the grip on his side tighten and tremble. And that left one thing very clear to him.

His sister was petrified. What he couldn't decipher was whether it was because of the revolt that had just happened at their capital or because of the terrifyingly powerful man that she had just brokered with.

---

Alma Toran. King Solomon. Queen Sheba. Al-thamen. And the young magician born from that tragedy, Aladdin.

So much information had just been thrown their way and Seijin made sure to never once look away. No matter how gruesome or grievous the tale had become, Seijin wanted to make sure that he would be able to recount it in its every detail to his master.

And he left his mind open to listen to the young magi give his ultimatum: would they save the world or destroy it?

It's an easy choice. Despite the animosity, if they refused a cease-fire, the three warring nations would have no world to fight for if Al-thamen was not dealt with first.

But it appeared they all had a different idea. In spite of the clear common enemy they faced, Seijin could see through King Sinbad's conniving methods. His master had been right to warn him about the king of Sindria. From the few words he spat, even when they sounded so logical to his mind, wanting Kou to separate from the organization before forming any kind of alliance with them was just an excuse to weaken them as the nation they were.

Prince Kouen obviously didn't fall for the ruse. But it put both ends into a debate that wouldn't have a clear-cut answer, Seijin was certain of that much.

And there wasn't. In the end, although he absconded from reaching an agreement or alliance, Prince Kouen told Aladdin that he wasn't going to join with the 'antics and fanatics' of that woman. Arba, Seijin thought immediately, but felt like Kouen was referring to someone else, someone that according to him had already taken hold of the Kou Empire.

But in his mind, Seijin couldn't think of this woman that he spoke of. At least no one that he heard or was aware of.

"Impure army?" All heads perked at hearing the voice that called out over everything. "That sucks. Don't put me together with that lot."

From a riveting power above them, the magi of their empire appeared. Everybody was wary of him and Seijin could tell why. Somehow the priest seemed different. Judar kept talking and talking, calling the ceasefire boring, and addressing Prince Kouen and pointing out that obviously Arba was Ren Gyokuen.

The empress?!

"Yep," Judar said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. "But that hag doesn't exist anywhere anymore."

Seijin didn't understand what he meant, at least not until their vanguard came and told his highness the news: the empress had been murdered by Prince Hakuryuu. And somehow Judar had helped Hakuryuu to accomplish that.

Judar flew skyward, a third eye appearing on his forehead while he took his dark staff in hand. "Take it. This is just a way for me to greet you all." All around the sky, clouds began to take shape as dark lightning formed dangerously close to them. Judar didn't want to end the world's problems by talking, he wanted war. "This is my answer as a magi!" His thumb crossed his throat as the lightning struck down; with his work done, the magi left using space and time magic that Seijin had falsely thought possible by only a handful of people. Seijin could do nothing but cower back as it came closer to them. But before it even reached the ruins and at the same time the protective borgs came forth for the island, a grand seal appeared above them, one that shone a bright yellow and seemed to absorb the dark lightning that had meant to strike directly at them. The rest, though, dispersed all around the island, creating a chasm of unfathomable size.

"Whew! That was a close one." A lilting voice called over them right in the middle of the eight-pointed seal, two warring lightning bolts converging to a diamond center, and hovered down to the floor before them. A grin split his face and was the only thing visible as he covered his face with a cowl but Seijin could still see the long gold plait that swayed as he stepped closer to the people around them. "Had the magic he casted not been in concord with my original gift, I don't think I'd have taken that as I did."

"Who—"

"You came," Aladdin spoke up with a shocked tone to his voice.

The blond man turned down to look at the magi, the grin never going away. "Came a bit late—some business to attend to—but I heard the gist of what you wanted to tell."

"You know this man, Aladdin?" Alibaba asked his friend, both him and the Fanalis girl stepping forth to flank either side of him.

"I met him briefly while I studied in Magnostadt," the young magi told them. "His name is—"

"Rakah." The man bowed and came back up, pulling his cowl back and showing striking amethyst eyes. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. But truth be told, I came out of curiosity, not obligation."

"You came all the same, Mister," Aladdin said, his voice sterner than before. "So you either wanted to know or you came for something else. And if you tell me otherwise, I know you're lying because you don't care about this world."

"Astute little boy!" he called out, leaning back with his hands on his hips. "But we've had this talk before, right? I don't care and I won't deny you the truth; I only came here to hear what you had to say and see if someone I know came."

He eyed the crowd before him, his cold amethyst gaze scanning everything and everybody around, before they settled at the Kou Empire and to Seijin in particular. His grin fell a bit before he chuckled and shook his head.

"But the coward didn't come."

"Who are you talking about?" the magi from Reim called out confused.

"No one of importance to Reim or Sindria," he confessed and immediately caught the attention of Seijin and everybody else in Kou's side.

"Is she one of them too?" Aladdin asked him.

"How are you sure we're talking about the same person?" Rakah retorted back.

"Because I've met her." Seijin couldn't help but feel ill at this whole pronoun game they were playing, both aware of whom they were speaking of but leaving everybody else in the dark. "Briefly but I could tell."

"A magi's power, huh," Rakah scoffed, tilting his head to the side as he eyed the shorter magician. "No. It's just the fact that you're from Alma Toran that you can tell." Standing back, he motioned his head to the rest of the countries present. "Don't be bothered, kings and magi, I didn't come to disrupt your precious peace or lack thereof. If anything I come with a similar goal as you all: to destroy the darkness and abnormalities that lurk in this world."

"Darkness and abnormalities?" King Sinbad repeated.

Something akin to a glare passed over Rakah's eyes before it changed back to the nonchalance that he had held so far. "Exactly. This isn't something little Aladdin could've shown you—it's not a story for him to tell, after all—but he will tell you that what I speak of is the truth." He took a few steps back before stretching his arms out to either side of him. At doing so, three small eight-pointed seals appeared around him, each of a different color and with different symbols in their centers. One held a royal blue hue with the insignia of a rolling wave centered; another was of a solid black with a circle and dot in the center; the third was of a white color and a swirl of wind as its sigil.

The sight of that one gave Seijin a chill down his spine. Grinning, Rakah gave him a brief smile before turning to the rest of the crowd at large. "The world is plagued with abnormalities that none of you can imagine, much less fight against; ones that Al-thamen did not cause but will exploit all the same. They arise from powers stolen and which I have fought hard to retrieve. So far I have obtained three—" Reaching his left arm out, Rakah pushed back his sleeves to show his forearm as another sigil showed itself. This one was the same insignia from before, a bright yellow with two centered lightnings forming the diamonded center that circled around his arm. "Including the powers given to me inherently, that makes four in total. Only three remain, one of which I have located."

Tilting his head to the side, he glanced Seijin's way with a chuckle before making the insignias disappear and facing the young magi. "And I will obtain the one that lies here in this world as well."

"Are you going to kill her then?" Aladdin inquired.

"I'd rather not. She's a sensible woman, though, so I'm hoping she will resign them to me. But if she's unwilling to cooperate, I will see myself forced to," Rakah told him with a nod. "You understand this is for the good of everybody, even for her."

"Killing someone for their own good?" Alibaba called out unable to understand what he meant. "That's ridiculous."

"Bark all you want, Saluja." Rakah walked past them and towards the rest of the crowd. "But you know nothing of what we have suffered because of what was done. We had no choice in the matter and now we pay. Well, I say no more!"

Anxiously expecting it after so many sidelong glances, Rakah's eyes met Seijin's for the briefest second before his image refracted and he appeared right in front of him. Seijin stepped back out, startled, and could only stare at the striking eyes that pierced through him as some kind of innate fear shook in him.

He didn't know where it came from or why he felt it so deep in his bones, but every part of him screamed to run.

But he couldn't. Seijin just froze as Rakah stared him down. Leaning over, the blond spoke in a quiet whisper against his ear. "Glad to see you have a plentiful life, Kijani. But you and Parisa should better separate from Speirr. Unlike you two, she's cursed still, bound like I am, and misfortune will follow her like it did you once and will affect you both." Pulling back, he smiled down at Seijin before patting his head. "I won't harm you. I have no need to." Rakah let out a low chuckle in his throat, "So stop shaking like a scared rabbit."

Seijin heard something from his side but by the time Chu'uun and Ri Seishuu got to him, Rakah's body refracted quicker than before and returned to the place he'd originally been. It was like he never even moved. Had he really stood before him? He had to; Seijin wouldn't have heard him so clearly if he hadn't been.

"Stop this, Mister Rakah." Rakah turned to Aladdin who stood with his staff held by him and with the Fanalis girl and Alibaba there as well. "What you want does not justify her death or anybody else's."

"Even when she'll be better off if I do?" Rakah asked him but immediately shook his head as the two remaining magi joined behind Aladdin. "Forget it. I see there's still no use negotiating this with you." His body began to become transparent then, losing color part by part. "But it matters not. Things will be how they should with or without your blessing; they always do."

Before he lost all color, Rakah glanced over his shoulder and smirked at Kouen and Koumei. "Don't get too attached, boys."

His silhouette refracted a second before he vanished completely. Turmoiled quickly ensued thereafter as the Kou Empire hurried to board their ships to leave. Ri Seishuu and Chu'uun tried to calm Seijin down from what had happened but he was shaken beyond belief. So much had happened—his heart still felt like it would pop out of his chest—but he couldn't think for a second as many things rushed through his mind.

Kijani. Why did he...call me that? And why did it sound so familiar?

But more importantly than that, Rakah's brazen approach had more than confirmed his fears about just who he and Aladdin had been speaking about. As startled as he was, it took Aladdin a couple of times to get his attention.

The young magi appeared concerned with pursed lips as he stood before him, his closest companions right behind him. "I'm sorry. I didn't consider that any of you would be here."

"I-I don't know you" was all Seijin could tell him as shaken as he still was.

"I know." Aladdin took a large breath before giving him a small smile. "But I know what Mister Rakah talked about and…" The young magi rubbed at the back of his head. "I can't really talk about it here. It really has nothing to do with Al-thamen's threat as it stands now but I feel that she should know."

"Please," Seijin muttered going over and bending down to meet his eyes. "Tell me, what does he want with my master?"

"Nothing good," Aladdin assured him. "But he will not harm her. At least, I don't think so. Not unless she gives him a reason to. So just tell her that she shouldn't listen to Mister Rakah."

Seijin knew his master better than that though. If the magi had a reason to think she would and she actually did, then there was little Seijin could do to convince her. "What if she doesn't listen?"

Aladdin pursed her lips and hung his head. "Then stop her however you can. What he wants—" The young magi's gaze fell askance towards the king of Sindria for a fraction of a second, but that was all Seijin needed to see it "—one person shouldn't be given so much power. So take care of her."

"I will."

"Seijin!" Turning at being called, Seijin glanced over his shoulder to Prince Kouen and Prince Koumei who had been too busy giving orders to get their fleets to leave as soon as possible that they had missed his and Aladdin's exchange. He gave the magi a small bow and thanks before heading back to the ships.

Everything was in chaos as information poured in about Rakushou from Balbadd as it came. The garrisons that had escaped from the capitol told many stories but they mostly concurred with each other: Prince Hakuryuu had been the one to murder Empress Gyokuen with the aid of the priest, Judar.

But it was some other news that shock him, ones that had been buried amongst the chaos of the revolt and ones that he had read through in a matter of minutes. The refugees that had arrived from Rakushou had been all account for at Balbadd; names and statuses had all been recorded.

And among none of them did the names of the Reizei family appear.

---

Rakah took a deep breath as another part of him returned to his temporary source, the ache from the distortion using borrowed Light magic taking its toll on his conscious. With his body elsewhere in his original world, Rakah knew that without little sparrow's original gift, he would have never gotten the ability to distort like he could; were it not for his own powers and those he'd retrieved, though, he knew that distortion from borrowed magic would only allow him to distort through that same world.

Her Light magic was versatile. But where raw power was concerned, he had the upper hand. That's what brought him so much confidence about returning to little sparrow's world when he had no more magic left to leave. Where she to refuse, he would easily make her submit.

A groan caught his attention and brought him back to the present where the lithe woman he knew entered the tiny cottage she called home. It was midday and the sun shone clearly through her opened windows, lighting her auburn hair ablaze into a fiery mane with golden feathers tinted crimson hanging low and out from behind her right ear.

Rakah could only scoff at the warm welcome he seemed to be getting everywhere he went. "Good to see you too, Noé."

"Spare me the civility." Her voice, like his, had a lilt to it but with a much thicker accent. "I'm not in the mood for you right now." Throwing the large satchel she'd been carrying over her shoulder to the side and letting it hit against the wall, Noé reached out one hand while the other rested on her hips. "Hand it over."

Not wanting to waste either of their time, Rakah did as she so politely asked and pulled the necklace over his head before laying it on the palm of her hand. Without even saying a thing, a bright orange seal marked the right side of her face, lighting the dark olive tone of her skin and making her emerald eyes shine ever brighter.

Inside the eight-pointed seal, a burst of lines came out from the center like rays of sunshine. The almost empty sphere filled in a matter of seconds before it shone bright with Light magic. Haphazardly, she tossed the necklace back but Rakah found no trouble catching it.

Someone's quite bitter today.

"Troubles in paradise?" he asked.

"Troubles in yours?" she asked, a half grin hiding what he knew to be the truth of what had her in such sour mood. "You've been coming back more often that I'd like seeing you. What's making you distort from place to place so damn much?"

"Business," he merely offered.

"Right," she muttered under her breath. "Friendly advice: don't let your body be without a conscious for too long. It'll do away without your rukh in it and if somebody finds it while you're out of it—"

"—I'll get possessed. I know. I've only been told this a couple hundred of times."

His cockiness seemed to amuse her as she grinned. "So what's the update? You finally convince her?"

"Not yet."

"Hurry up then," she demanded. The order irritated him since she couldn't understand that one couldn't just speed up such delicate process. "I'm damn tired of living in this fucked up world. This ain't no different from that shitty hell-hole underground or the damn tower. People hate and fight all the same. Idiotic bastards."

"You can't hurry this, Noé," he reminded her. "I'd rather not pressure her. After all, I can't take her seal unless—"

"Unless she activates it first," Noé finished for him going over to lay in her hammock, swaying back and forth with the one long leg she let rest on the outside. "Otherwise it'll just skip forward to whomever's next. I know, I know. It's just, ugh, so frustrating to wait on your ass. I'm sick of the world being so fucking disgusting."

"Then stay here." Even with his eyes closed, Rakah could feel the daggers that Noé glared his way. "Ah right," he jeered, "being cooped up isn't your thing, is it?"

"Just go fuck off and get her seal already so you can take mine." With that said, she placed her arms over her face, practically ending the conversation on her side.

Always the dramatic little sparrow.

"Don't worry. It shouldn't be long now," he assured her while placing the necklace back over his head. "I just brokered a little bargain that will surely get her to react like I want her to. So if you'll excuse me..." His silhouette began to quickly lose color as it became transparent. "I've got to instruct myself a poisonous snake on how to disclose some twisted truths to the world." Just as he said that, the light around him refracted and he distorted out, leaving no trace.

---

A/N:

Oh look, it hasn't been a month but I uploaded xD Wrote this in maybe three days because of how inspired I've been.

Now bear with me, here, because I know there's a bunch of information here that may not necessarily pertain to the story as a whole but it will. I'm broadening the scope to fit in better with what's going to happen later (it's broader from when it started) but I promise it won't go further than this. At least I don't plan it to go any further than this in Silent Lamb. But that's for another time.

There's a bunch of things that happened here certainly. Especially with Rakah and his character because I could tell that some of you thought he would be helping Ceara :) But just to put things clear, he isn't a completely chaotic character, he has purpose although he does love to cause "mischief." There's also some deeper (although not that deep) delving into Seijin and Parisa's character. It's barely scratching the surface really. No worries, though, next chapter for sure, I'll focus more on Ceara and Silent Lamb's plot and not as much on this whole metaverse thing I'm working on (-w- ) Pinky promise.

Let's welcome the awesome people that Favorited and Followed, joining the little family of readers:

- NeverStory
- Crazywordsmith

It's only been a couple of days but hope you enjoy this! If I'm not wrong with how I'm planning on delivering this (which I'm almost 99.9% certain) we'll be having a pretty intense fight next chapter :3 It'll be a 2v2 but who against who will be the question I'll leave you with x) So like always hoped you enjoyed and stay tuned for the next chapter! :D