Riven gave it only a second. He had been told to find the blonde. She wasn't there. He could go looking for her, or he could go looking for Musa. He would go looking for Musa any day. Even if they didn't have important things to discuss, which they did. Actually, scratch that. In spite of that. Because Riven had that funny awkward feeling in his stomach. So far, there had been other people involved, so there were no direct questions or really, even any need for eye contact. The whole one-on-one was a bit intimidating, however, he had to man up, otherwise he might go a bit crazy.

did he have a girlfriend or not? He did. Though he wasn't sure if he still did. Things were complicated, but then again, they had always been complicated. For heaven's sake, it was him and Musa, for crying out loud. Throw in an arrogant mule with a shady past and an equally stubborn emotionally unstable princess with the fear of confrontation, and you got Musa and Riven. Riven and Musa, he corrected imself. Because the guy comes first. Always. Riusa.. The thought flitted across his mind and he cringed outwardly. Ugh-Muriv. Even worse. Blosky. Titec. Heflo. Braste. Nalay. The last one caused a pang of guilt. No more Nabu. It was a thought difficult to digest. He hadn't really done any mourning himself. In fact, he had forgotten. Were people so easy to forget? Would he only miss Nabu at training, or at battle, or when he needed to talk to someone about Musa? He needed to talk now, and he had thought of him. And he had died yesterday. That bloody Jared. If I ever get my hands on him…

he heard a soft sobbing coming from her room. She is crying for the third time today. This had got to be some kind of a record. Didn't her eyes dry up? Would she need more water to cry more? He felt another pang of guilt. I am the worst boyfriend in the history of Magix. Oh yeah—we are now in Tides. So the worst in Tides.

He had made a note of her room number, somehow, though he didn't know when this had happened. he wouldn't have known her sobs, though with the amount of time he had to hear them that day, he had definitely gotten some of the finer points pinned down. The crying varied. When there was someone around it was almost silent, but when there was no one, or perceptively no one, they were louder. And there was the different reasons for crying that kind of changed the whole tempo of sobs. There was the angry outburst, like the one at lunch. There were the volunterary and involunterary releases, though he wasn't sure they didn't compliment each other. And he was hearing the sample of the combination between frustration and sadness now. The musical fairy cries musically. Was that something that she had been taught, or was that just learnt by observing her very musical parents? Oh, right, her mother had died, so she only had her father to take any crying lessons from. And that old geezer had never shed a droplet, so its probably just Musa crying and I am officially the worst boyfriend for standing out here and analysing it all.

He clenched his teeth and softly opened the door. He could do this the slow awkward way or the fast awkward way. Fast it is. She was sitting on the bed, her back to him. He was on the bed in seconds, wrapping her in his arms. She gave a startled, choking sob and tried to push him away, flailing her hands, though this was no use, as he had caught her from the back. His hands snaked around her waist; and he pulled her upright. She was sitting on his lap now, and he had to continuously remind himself that his goal was to comfort her. Trapped, and with arms pinned to her sides, Musa shook her head angrily, a long blue-black ponytail wipping him in the face. The other ponytail remained pinned to her side with her hand.

"You're the only one I know who sleeps with her head facing away from the door," he mumbled. She wondered distantly how many girls he knew who didn't.

"The servants keep walking in and out," she explained.

"Lock it."

"We can't. its not allowed."

"Well, that's how I got here, so I cant complain. Would have been useful if I had known earlier."

She knew he was talking about that morning and blushed.

"Let me go, Riven."

"Only if you tell me why you are crying."

"I'm not crying."

She froze when his left hand reached up to cup her jaw. Cautiously moving a finger towards her cheek. He uttered a growl of triumph, holding up her tear in his finger.

"Liar."

She found her stiffness melt away as she tried to escape his arms again. Her second ponytail had come loose, too, and she could feel some of her hair clinging to the sticky tears.

"Jared has been found," she announced, hesitantly.

It was his turn to stiffen now. "Jared"!" He wanted to scream. You are crying because of that two- bit twerp. Again! His hands slackened and Musa took the opportunity to fight her way out of them. She turned to face him, wiping away the tears that remained on her face with a quick swipe. Though she couldn't find the strength to get off his lap.

As if she could read his thoughts, she said, "I know he is just a two-bit twerp to you. But he is, was, also my best friend. And my first boyfriend."

"He killed my best friend," Riven snarled.

She nodded. "I know. But it was only because of that, bitch, Alberta…"

"She's not a bitch, she was honest, and explained it all to us. It's not her fault"

"Since when have you and her become such pals?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Riven chose to answer it, anyway. "She's Sky's cousin. I met her at the after-party…"

"I know, I saw you with her."

"Then why did you ask?"

"You know what I mean."

"And who were you with? Your ex-fucking boyfriend. Was I supposed to hang out alone?"

"I went home. You were still there. With her. "

"it was better than thinking about where you were and if you were with him."

She gasped. "You thought I was with him?"

He nodded. "Why do you think I came barging into your room that night?"

"But we left at different times."

"Well, Alberta said that…" He knew he should have explained it differently as soon as he said the words. Musa nearly jumped out of his lap in outrage.

"Alberta!" she yelled.

"Calm down!" he helped study her with a strong hand, but Musa was on her feet.

"She is the reason for all of this." Musa threw up her hands, gesturing wildly. Her hair clung to her face. Her right ponytail had come loose, plastering her hair across her face. Her eyes were blazing angrily. Riven's breadth hitched. Beautiful. He smirked. Wet and wild.

"Are you even listening to me?" she shrieked. Riven altered his expression immediately, trying to keep the playful smirk from his lips and aroused glint from his eye.

"And this whole prison and rape thing," she was in lecture mode now, her voice clear and etched with burning resentment. "You never thought of telling me anything. What, didn't you trust me? And the fact that Layla is your sister… Why couldn't you have just told me?"

"You blabbed the secret about my nightmare to everyone…"

"That wasn't a secret! You never said."

"You are so stupid! It was implied, obviously. It was like telling everyone all about our first night together."

She blushed and averted her eyes nervously. riven suddenly turned from very defensive to very offensive. He got off the bed and began pacing, his hands balled into fists. "You told them." He said each word slowly, the meaning sinking in.

"Not everything," she mumbled, "We all do it. Well, except Techna."

"You stupid, spoilt, nosy princesses.."

"That is quite enough."

"Well, anyway, you have your answer. I didn't tell you because you can't keep your goddamn mouth shut."

"Officer Tom seemed to think otherwise. When he told me about your—past, he told me not to tell anyone, and I didn't."

"And what was I supposed to do then? Live all my life with you thinking I am some kind of creep? I used the fact that the two were there to explain myself. Even that wretched Sky."

"Of course, Alberta is okay."

"Well, at least she believed I wasn't a rapist, and she didn't even bat an eyelash before saying so."

"Of course, dear Alberta can never be wrong."

"and then you bring in my prison break in there, too, so I have to tell them that. Forget what Officer Tom told you. So that was the second time you betrayed me."

"Don't worry, Alberta wont tell anyone. She's totally taken with you."

"I'm worried about Sky."

"Oh, and you aren't worried about dear Berta? What was with that advice you gave her to hide her involvement with Nabu's murder? She's the one who should be executed, not Jared."

"You seriously believe that?" He had taken most of Musa's words to be in the heat of the moment, but he couldn't imagine Alberta being executed for some silly prank like that. And I cant believe Musa would, either. Or even Jared being executed, for that matter. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. A life for a life?

Musa shook her head, "I don't know what to believe anymore. I have known Jared all my life, and I cant believe he would ever do something like that."

"You haven't met him for a couple of years now. Perhaps he has changed?"

"You're one to talk. You met your stupid skank yesterday, and you are telling her things you never even bothered to mention to me."

Riven let out a breadth of frustration. And I thought I would go crazy if I didn't talk to her? He tried to explain. "It's your fault for never bringing it up. Your behaviour gave it away. If I hadn't done what I did there with Alberta and Sky, you would have been avoiding me. Your door might have been locked, despite the rules. Do you understand how annoying it is talking to someone who keeps running away from me and never asks me something directly?"

His hands flew out with frustration, and as his eyes perceived the unidentified flying object hurtling towards him, he caught it. It was a reflex action, one borne out of training and early childhood experiences. His hands circled round a snow globe. A snow globe thrown by Musa. He dodged another as it came flying towards him. The third one shattered on the wallbehind him as he ducked.

"Get out," Musa's eyes were narrowed in extreme anger.

"You are not to ruin this room," Riven snapped, making a lunge for her as she reached for another snow globe. Apparently, there was a collection on the mantelpiece. He grabbed her hand and removed the snow globe from it, replacing it carefully on the table.

"Get out," she repeated , weakly. Her eyes were watering again, her breadth coming out choked.

"You have some serious issues, don't you?" Riven growled, taking her hands in both of his and leading her away from the mantelpiece to wards the bed..

The chambermaid poked her head in. "Is there anything I can—" she began and gasped, seeing the glass on the floor.

Riven smiled smoothly at her, hurriedly trying to conceal all emotion from his face. "Sorry, can you get me a broom?" he asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. As if this kind of thing happened everyday. Musa sat stiffly on the bed, the fight drained out of her completely.

"I was trying to juggle them," he explained, as the maid returned. He took the broom from her hands. "I'll get that."

She refused to let go of the broom. Whether this was about vocational pride or just plain stubbornness, he didn't know. A staring match ensued. Riven lost. He let his hand leave the broom and nodded.

"alright, we'll just go, then." He went over to Musa again, who was making a good pretense of looking through her purse. She wasn't fooling him, though. She was crying. A tear betrayed her. He wiped her face with the back of his hand and before anything could be said, was carrying her outside.

"Let me go," Musa wriggled in his arms. He had just carried her outside the room, which was a relief. Musa was ashamed of herself—she had broken castle property and almost hurt Riven. It was all Alberta's fault.

As soon as they were outside, Riven let her go. Her feet found the ground, but still a bit unsteadily.

"What…the hell… was that… about," he snarled. Musa had not had the chance to look at his eyes. when she did, she was frightened. They were red with anger. She felt the urge to flee and made a move to run away, but Riven was wise to her scheme.

"No," his hands went up to grab her wrist.

"Let me go," hissed Musa. She would have yelled, but she was worried about the chambermaid overhearing her.

"No, we are going to talk about this like rational beings."

"What does that even mean?"

"You are going to stop accusing me of having feelings for Alberta and I am going to tell you all of my secrets."

Her eyes widened. Was that a hitch she heard in his voice?

"You have more?" was all she could say, incredulously.