"Hey," called a voice. "You need to pay."
A very tall boy stepped out of the shadow of the gate. He had piercing blue eyes behind small glasses. At his side was a shorter boy with blond hair. He looked rather cheerful, in contrast to his partner's intimidating aura.
"What?" Gilbert spluttered. "You don't need to pay to leave the city!"
"You do now," the tall boy said sarcastically. "'S a new rule."
"Sorry!" the shorter boy said apologetically. "I'm afraid this is a robbery. Please hand over your money, and my partner won't have to use force."
There was a rustling sound behind the group, and they turned to find three other boys behind them, blocking their escape. One had sticking-up, wind swept hair and a slightly smug grin. The second had eyes devoid of emotion and a strange curl floating by his head, seemingly held up by a cross-shaped hairclip. The last had silver hair and a bored look on his face. The setting sun painted their features in red.
"We don't have any money," Arthur snarled. "So you're wasting your time."
The boy that had spoken before frowned. "Oh, dear. It looks like you're choosing the hard way."
A small white dog pushed its way through the gap between the two boys and sniffed the five suspiciously. It turned back to the shorter boy and barked.
"Hanatamago says that you do, in fact, have money on your person," the boy said, bending over to pet his dog. "So you are going to hand it over."
Gilbert snorted. "What kind of name is Hanatamago?"
The tall, scary boy grunted. "He wanted to name her Sardine-Panic, but I convinced him not to."
"Berwald!" the boy complained. "Why did you tell them that?"
They boy with spiky hair behind them laughed. "Looks like your secret is out, Tino!"
Tino sighed, exasperated. "Now they know our names!"
"That was mostly your fault," the one with silver hair pointed out.
Berwald glared at him. "Shut up, Emil."
"Might as well just tell them the rest of our names, now!" Tino shouted, throwing up his hands. "That's Mathias and that's Lukas!"
Ludwig made a sound of recognition. "You're the Nordic Five."
"What's that?" asked Lizzie.
"We're a gang!" Mathias shouted excitedly. "The most notorious in all of Fortis City!"
"Never heard of you," Gilbert smirked.
Just then, as if things could get any weirder, a voice echoed from behind Tino and Berwald. "Aha! I've found them!"
Everyone, even the Nordic Five, swivelled around to face whoever had spoken. A boy with glasses and dirty blond hair was grinning at them excitedly.
"Oh, no," Emil groaned. "It's him."
"Raivis! Come here!" the boy called. Another boy, who was much shorter and had curly caramel coloured hair, came running up to stand with his partner.
"What?" he panted.
"I found the Nordic Five!" the first boy said triumphantly.
"Look, Eduard," Mathias said, his voice pained. "Please go away. We're in the middle of something."
Eduard shook his head. "No! You've gotta let me become a Nordic! It's my dream! Right, Raivis?"
"Yeah," Raivis said halfheartedly.
Tino sighed. "Eduard, you can't become a Nordic right now. Go home."
"Are you assaulting these people?" Eduard asked, noticing the group for the first time. "Can I help?"
"No, we're not going to hurt them," Lukas said softly.
"Just go away," Tino pleaded. "We'll talk to you later, okay?"
"But that's what you said last time..." Eduard pouted.
Raivis sighed and began to drag him away. "Let's go, Eduard."
The two groups watched them silently until they were out of sight.
"What are we doing again?" Gilbert asked, yawning.
"I'm honestly wondering that myself," Emil said dryly.
Tino stomped his foot. "This is a robbery! Berwald, restrain the short one!"
Berwal heaved a sigh and wrapped his large arms around Arthur before anyone could stop him. Arthur struggled violently, but Berwald was very strong.
Tino smiled, his face suddenly cold, calculating. "Now that we have a hostage, will you cooperate?"
Francis shrugged. "Will you let the rest of us go if you keep him?"
Arthur's eyes widened, but Berwald's hand was over his mouth, so he couldn't do anything but make a noise of outrage.
Lizzie looked at Francis in shock. "Are you crazy?"
Francis stared back icily. "The quest must go on, no matter the cost."
Tino looked like he was seriously considering it.
"We have no need for keeping hostages," Lukas said, glaring at Tino. "There is nothing worse than abandoning your comrades."
"Why should we care?" Emil shrugged. "We're currently robbing them! Who cares about ethics?"
"We will not take hostages," Lukas said firmly.
"Well, what do we do if they don't give us the money?" Tino whined.
"You five are the most incompetent gang I've ever seen," muttered Gilbert.
Berwald held Arthur a little tighter. The Omnes' face was paling as he struggled to breathe.
"Stop it! You're hurting Arthur!" Lizzie cried. "We really don't have any money!"
A strange bird flew up to rest on Emil's head. "She's telling the truth, kid!" he squawked in Emil's ear.
Emil winced. "Mr. Puffin, please don't yell right into my ear."
"Wow, you guys are the best at naming," Gilbert said before he could stop himself.
Tino stepped forward, choosing to ignore him. "But Hana said that they did have money."
The little white dog scampered up to rest on Tino's shoulder. "Okay, I was wrong," she said irritably. "They just have the smell of it on them. Wherever they were last is full of the stuff."
Gilbert cast a worried glance at Arthur. Berwald still hadn't loosened his hold. "We'll tell you the address!" he promised. "You can steal all you want from there. It's really easy to get in!"
Tino thought it over. "Berwald, release Arthur."
Berwald took his arms away from Arthur, who collapsed onto his knees, panting.
"Where is the building?" Mathias asked.
Gilbert quickly gave him directions, and the infamous Nordic Five departed, Gilbert waving cheerily to Mathias for a reason that frankly, no one cared about.
Meanwhile, Arthur was clutching his throat and taking shuddering gasps. Lizzie was crouching next to him and murmuring words the rest if them couldn't hear.
"Now that they're gone, we can keep going," Francis said, not even looking at Arthur.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Lizzie yelled, standing up. "You shouldn't even consider leaving a member behind! Were you actually serious?"
Francis was silent for a long time. Finally, he said, "I meant what I said. The quest must be completed, at any cost."
"Did that stuff mess with your brain?" Lizzie hissed quietly. "We're a team!"
Francis pushed her away, gently but firmly. He continued walking out the gate.
Ludwig followed, studying the map. "I suggest we stop here for the night, before it gets too late."
Arthur stayed at the back of the group, rubbing his throat. He had pulled up his hood, a clear sign that he didn't want to talk to anybody. What little trust he had in Francis had been completely shattered.
When they had reached the place, Gilbert and Lizzie made a fire and Ludwig pulled some food out of their packs. Every time they stopped at a new place, they had to stock up, as they were telling the truth when they said they had no money.
After a meagre meal of rations, they set up the bedrolls. It was a quiet evening; no one wanted to talk to each other, not after an event like that. One by one, they all dropped off to sleep, Ludwig taking first watch.
Francis abruptly opened his eyes and looked around, but he knew immediately that he was dreaming. He could tell because he was standing in an empty field, covered in gently waving green grass. There was nothing but said grass for as far as he could see.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light in front of him. A figure appeared in the light. It was down on all fours, and quite large.
"B-beau?" Francis stuttered.
The glow faded. An animal with a pure silver coat with a dappling of black spots and pointy ears with little tufts of fur on them regarded Francis calmly.
"No," it finally said in a surprisingly soft voice. "I am not your fox. But you will see him again."
"What...er, who are you?" Francis asked.
"All you need to know is that I am your friend," the animal said reassuringly. "I am the silver lynx, Matthew."
"Mathieu? That is your name?"
"Yes. We must part for now, but we will meet again. Tell no one about our encounter," Matthew commanded as the world around Francis started to fade.
"Wait! Why am I here? Why can't I tell anyone?" Francis cried, but it was too late. He had already woken up into the real world, being shaken by Ludwig.
"Wha-?" he said, confused. This dream was fading from his mind, but one bit remained: the image of the lynx, as well as a rather odd detail: the strange curl poking out from its head.
"It is your turn for watch," the Fortis said guardedly.
Everyone is acting that way around me, Francis noted. Just because I-
"Didn't you hear me? Get you butt over there," Ludwig whispered harshly.
Francis obligingly got up and sat down on the rock that Ludwig had been using.
He thought about the events with the Nordic Five. Why hadn't anyone understood? It was the oldest bluffing tactic in the book! You pretend to comply to the assailant's wishes, then sneak back and take whatever you lost back from right under their unsuspecting noses. That's why he had kept up the act, even when the gang had left, because you never know who might be watching. Everyone learned that pretty early on, where Francis came from.
Where I come from.
Of course. He was the only Docte. The Goddess of Wiliness' brood. Everyone else was from the groups where bravery was the code of life, and to betray someone was unthinkable. They honestly didn't understand Francis' way of thinking.
Arthur is going to hate me for the rest of the quest if I don't resolve this now, Francis realized.
He looked around to make sure that they were safe for the moment, and crawled over to Arthur's bedroll. "Arthur," he hissed, shaking the Omnes.
"Five more minutes, Al," Arthur murmured.
Francis was torn between waking up Arthur now or waiting to see if he would let any more information slip. The decision was made for him, however, when Arthur opened his eyes and stared straight into Francis'.
It took Arthur one second to process exactly who was invading his personal space before he leaped back with a curse. "Get out of my face, frog!"
"Arthur," Francis whispered. "I need to talk to you."
"Oh, sure you do," Arthur spat quietly. "No, wait, you actually want to betray me!"
"Arthur, hear me out,' Francis pleaded. "It will make sense after-"
"No." Arthur crossed his arms, eyes flaring.
Francis hesitated. "If I tell you how the monster led you to me and Lizzie, will you listen to my reason?"
Arthur frowned, his dislike for Francis battling with his natural curiosity. Finally, he gave in. "Alright. I'll listen to you," he said reluctantly.
Francis smiled and beckoned him back to the rock. "Sit here," he instructed.
Arthur sat down and yawned, now acting indifferent. "Your story better be good."
Francis showed him his bandaged arm. "Do you know where I got this?"
Arthur scowled uncertainly. "You got it from...uh..."
"The shadow monster at the lake," Francis supplied.
"Really? It hurt you?"
"Oui, but everyone seemed to either forget or not notice in the first place. The reason is..." Francis faltered.
"Go on," Arthur urged, forgetting his apathetic front.
The Docte sighed. "Perhaps I'll just show you."
He began to unwrap the bandages, letting them fall away. His arm was still exuding the purple-black mist, but it wasn't as intense as before, as it was when he was around the shadow monsters.
Arthur stared at the rather grotesque marks, a look of terror on his face. "What the hell are those?"
"The bite marks are infected," Francis explained. "I can sense when shadow monsters are nearby."
"And the 'guide'?" Arthur asked skeptically.
"That was me," Francis admitted. "I possessed the ombra and found you three."
"The what?"
"Ah, sorry. When I was in the monster's mind, I found out that they are actually called the ombre."
"We should call them that from now on," Arthur murmured. "And you possessed it...? Um, please keep going."
"When we were lost and trapped in the Fortis building, Lizzie and I discovered these...powers of mine. I do not know how the work, I have merely been operating on instinct. However, I believe they only work when we are near the ombre. Does that make sense?"
"No," Arthur said truthfully.
"I know," Francis sighed. "But it's all I know about it, myself."
"Fine. Now that you've shared that, go ahead with your amazing explanation of your reason for treason," Arthur said grumpily.
"I am Docte," Francis said. "Do you know the way of the Docte?"
"Not really," muttered Arthur. "I'm not well educated on the ways of the other clans."
"Well, our patron Goddess is Callidum," Francis explained. "She is the Goddess of Wiliness."
Arthur opened his mouth to interrupt, but Francis shushed him with a pointed look.
"We are taught from childhood that fights should be avoided at all costs. Confrontations are the worst things that can happen, so we use any method possible to steer clear of them."
Arthur lowered his eyes. "Including…"
"Including faking giving the hostiles what they want, then slipping back and swiping it back after," Francis finished gently. "I never would have left you behind, Arthur. I was just exhibiting what skills have been hammered into my mind since birth."
Arthur was silent. Then he punched him on the arm. "Even if I believe you, I still don't like you, frog."
Francis rubbed his arm ruefully. "I know, I know."
They settled into a comfortable silence. Francis was glad that Arthur had chosen to believe him, but there was still the issue of his secret.
"Arthur," the Docte began. "Will you do me the honour of keeping my secret?"
Arthur bit his lip. "It's a pretty big secret. I don't know if…"
"Lizzie already knows," Francis said urgently. "But I am afraid that Gilbert and Ludwig will not be as accepting as you two. Until I figure my...condition out, please refrain from telling anyone."
Arthur sighed. "Fine. ...But only because it's in my best interests to finish the quest without internal conflict! I'm not doing it for you!"
Francis merely laughed. "Whatever you say, Arthur."
Arthur huffed. "I'm going back to sleep. Goodbye."
"Bonne nuit, Arthur," Francis smiled.
Afterwards, the group travelled southwest, towards the Fortis temple. Ludwig proved to be a very adept navigator, plotting their path with a sense of foresight. The issue with Francis had been resolved, but Francis did notice that Lizzie was becoming more distant towards him, choosing to spend more time with Arthur than anyone else. She seemed to think herself a big sister towards him, and tried to fill in the gap in his life where a sister figure would be. Gilbert was very happy to be with his brother again, and they often had friendly arguments about this and that. Nobody really wanted to talk to Francis, unless they had to. Francis acted like he wasn't too bothered, but it still hurt him on the inside.
He had dreams with the silver lynx Matthew in them almost every night, but never told the others about him. In the dreams, Matthew sat down and let Francis lean on him and share his troubles. Francis found himself telling the lynx his deepest feelings. His sadness at being ignored, his worry that everyone thought he was a monster, his fear for the eventual battle with the ombre. Matthew always listened, no matter what he talked about.
Gradually, though the journey to the Fortis temple took a fortnight at most, the others began to act more friendly around him again. Francis was just glad to be part of the group again, and tried his hardest to not act tooDocte around them, as no one seemed to like that. The dreams didn't stop, however. Francis told Matthew less of his problems as his situation improved, but instead, he told him about his life. Matthew never said anything about himself, but seemed content to listen to Francis' life story. After several nights of this, the group was finally in sight of the temple.
"One more night of sitting in the cold and we'll finally have reached our first goal!" Gilbert cheered.
"Then it'll be more nights of sitting in the cold until we reach the next one," Ludwig said dryly.
"Aww, don't ruin my mood, West! I'm just glad that our destination is in sight, einmal," Gilbert pouted.
"I hope there's extra food there," Lizzie said worriedly, looking into her pack. "We're almost out."
Francis noticed a rose bush sitting randomly nearby. He carefully picked a few roses and hid them. Then he approached Lizzie.
"Allow me to set up our meal tonight," he said helpfully. She looked at him for a moment, a flash of distrust in her eyes, but it was quickly gone and she nodded.
As the others set up camp, Francis arranged what food they had in a beautiful fashion (well, as beautiful as you can get when you're camping in the cold with rations as your only food).
He took the roses from before and arranged them around the meal. He made sure to put a rose directly on Arthur's place, scattering the rest around the area.
"The food is ready!" he called to the others, and they all settled down to eat.
"Wow, Francis," Lizzie commented. "This is really…"
"Magnifique?" Francis offered.
"I was going to say 'over the top'," Lizzie smirked. "The roses are a nice touch."
"Merci," Francis said, ignoring any and all sarcasm.
Arthur was silent as he spotted his place, where the rose innocently lay. He quickly grabbed it and stuffed it in his cloak, but his face was slightly red.
Nobody noticed but Francis, who hoped that meant that all was forgiven, once and for all.
When they all went to sleep with Francis on first watch, Arthur came to sit beside him, crawling over to the watch rock and poking his head up. It reminded Francis of a little rabbit. When Arthur had clambered onto the large rock, he said nothing, but glared into the fire with so much emotion, Francis was expecting it to explode soon.
"What is wrong, Arthur?" Francis asked, breaking the silence.
"I don't know," Arthur muttered. "All of this is so strange. I don't know what a proper family is. I don't know what friends do. It's extremely confusing for me. We've been on this journey for a few weeks now, but I'm still clueless. What am I supposed to do?"
Francis smiled, a bit surprised and honoured that Arthur was choosing to confide in him, of all people. "You say thank you when someone does something nice for you. You ask them how they are feeling. You support them when they are sad, or lost, or confused."
"Why?" asked Arthur.
"It shows them that you care for them. To love is the best thing you can do for someone. To be loved is the best feeling in the world."
"I don't know that feeling," Arthur said, his voice ragged. "I have no one."
"What about your brother?" Francis asked gently.
"He…" Arthur's voice broke. "I loved him and his mom as if they were my real family. But he's gone. He died. They all died."
"But now you have friends, non? You have us."
Arthur nodded hesitantly.
"Your friends are your greatest allies. They are the ones who will stay by your side at every moment, the good times and the bad times. You can always count on them. We are a family."
Arthur appeared to be thinking Francis' words over deeply. He was silent for a whole minute. When the Omnes' head dropped onto Francis' shoulder, Francis realized that he had fallen asleep.
"Oh, mon petit lapin," he chuckled. "You are a real mystery."
He let Arthur sleep next to him as he kept watch. When it was Lizzie's turn, Francis tried to lift Arthur, but the boy was like a sack of rocks when he slept, of course. So, he staggered to Arthur's bedroll and pushed the Omnes onto it, which still didn't wake him up, and quickly roused Lizzie for her watch. He went to sleep feeling satisfied.
He did not dream of the silver lynx that night.
