Something was jabbing into Flau's side. She winced in pain as she opened her eyes. "What is it?" she asked groggily. Her vision was slightly hazed, but cleared within moments. To her right stood Jack whom had been poking her awake. "What in the name of Void are you doing?!" she yelled jumping onto the brick wall she lay upon and stepping into a battle stance.
"You were asleep…it was odd. You never sleep, Flau," Jack said innocently.
Flau stared. "Well, I am human, you know. I'm not some super-elf who can last weeks on end without sleep," she argued.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Jack said placing his hands behind his head.
"Why are you in such a good mood today, Jack?" Flau asked suspiciously giving him a glare similar to his sister's.
Jack smiled, closing his eyes cheerfully. "No reason at all! I should get going. You never know when the knights have a job for me!" he exclaimed as he ran off.
Flau stared after him. "How come he's always so…chipper…?"
"It's because he's a child," a familiar voice said from behind her. Flau turned and saw Eon sitting where she had woken up. He smiled at her. "I'm only here because Ortoroz assigned me as your partner."
Flau glared at him. "Why did he choose you? You're not all that powerful, Eon," she said causing the purple clad ninja to glare right back at her.
He stood up and crossed his arms. "I was also sent to make sure you didn't screw up your mission." He stood taller than her by a few inches. His catlike eyes pierced into hers. People gazed awkwardly at the pair before continuing their daily duties.
"Ortoroz said this mission would only be meant for me," Flau argued.
"He had a miscalculation. The mission takes a minimum of two people; one is the distraction and the other is the thief, got it, Flau?" he spat.
"I get it! So you're the distraction right?" she asked shrugging her shoulders.
"Yes, Ortoroz told me that's my job. So when is the best time to infiltrate the shrine?" Eon said his eyes widening with mischievousness slightly.
Flau looked away as she spoke. "Nighttime. The only one within the shrine at night is Kain himself. I'm sure with your 'expertise'," she said raising both hands and doing quotation marks, "You'd be able to distract him for at least a few moments as I locate and retrieve the pendant."
Eon chuckled, "It's just Kain, is it? I'm going to have a little fun with this…"
"Don't be so arrogant. Kain is not easily fooled. If you're going to distract him, make it good that'll last at least 10 minutes," she warned.
"Ten minutes…?! You're that slow?! It'd be easier if I did the stealing!" he emphasized.
"Do you really want to be wandering around a church? You'd be out of place if someone else walked in. At least I've been there enough to blend in," she scoffed.
"Either way, this will be very entertaining for me," he said revealing a smirk underneath the purple face cover over his mouth.
Flau rolled her eyes before turning away from him. "Meet me at the entrance at about 20:45." She then left toward Vareth to explore the city. She contemplated what Kain would do to her if he found out about the plot.
Flau went up to the Star Tower to attempt another gaze at the sky. She still hadn't figured it out yet and wanted to see the sky. Every time she looked through the lens of the telescope, the view was black...IN DAYLIGHT! She began to get frustrated with the device and would not stop working at it until she got it to work.
As she was again trying to manipulate the view, she heard footsteps come from behind her. "Need some help with that?" she distinctively heard Jack's voice say.
"No," she sighed. "I can do it on my own." She continued to fidget with some of the controls, but nothing happened.
Jack chuckled. He stepped toward the telescope and pushed a button that opened the ceiling toward the sky. "Whoa!" Flau shouted as she gazed at the breathtaking view. "How did you do that, Jack…?!"
Jack had a big smirk on his face. He pointed to a small red button near the lens. "This button right here opens the top while the other two open the sides. The telescope falls on the open space at the ceiling."
Flau furrowed her eyebrows. "Take that smirk off your face. I would've figured it out," she said crossing her arms.
Jack continued to smirk. "Yeah, yeah…you've been messing with this device for a month now," he said leaning his head upon his hands.
Flau glared at Jack before dodging out of the room and using her shortcuts to make it to the confessional. She always went there around that time anyway.
She stepped inside the room and paced about for a little while. She heard the Kain enter the other side and stopped pacing. "You've returned again, Miss Flau," she heard him say in greeting to her."
"Yeah, what of it…? It's not like I have anything better to do. This city can get rather boring," she said flouncing herself down upon the stool.
"Do you miss being a member of Olacion?"
She thought for a moment before answering. "Not really. Old habits die hard I guess."
"What would you like to talk about today?" he asked calmly. Flau felt as if he was slowly disarming her with his voice. It came softly and welcoming; a kind voice. It always had been.
"I just…" she began, but nothing else came to her. She wanted to confess the burglary she was going to attempt that night, but she just couldn't say anything. "It's nothing…never mind…"
"Nothing…? I understand then," he said calmly. "What did you come here for then?" he asked.
"I always come here," she stated. "Is there any reason why I shouldn't come here today?"
Kain said nothing for a moment. He then said, "You still haven't began to deal with the trial you are facing. Why do you hesitate?"
Flau looked down at her brown boots. "Hesitation is not a bandit's will. I do not hesitate. I am simply resting from the things in my life right now." She glared at the window as she could barely see Kain through the iron window.
"Whatever is troubling you, should be handled quickly and carefully," he said patiently.
"Is this all you do for your life; sit there and tell me how to live mine? Gah, you sound like some obsessed parent!" she slammed her fists down upon the small platform before the chair.
"Is this life really hurting you so much?" he asked with his voice still calm. "I am here to listen, Miss Flau."
"Then you're going to preach to me right?" she said leaning back in the chair.
Kain sighed. "You judge rather quickly."
"I've got somewhere I need to be right now," she said.
After that, Kain merely heard the door to the other room slam shut. He looked down with a slight sadness. He upset her to the point of rage, although, it was more her frustration that got to her.
He walked out of the confession room and met Achilles waiting for him in the hallway. Achilles glanced over and noticed Kain's worried expression. "Is something wrong, sir?"
Kain shook his head. "It's nothing," he stated before walking ahead of Achilles toward the bridge that overlooked the city.
As he gazed out to the distance, something light touched his mind; almost as if someone, the gods no doubt were speaking to his heart. "A hidden confession…?"
"What was that, Priest Kain?" Achilles asked concerned.
"I just had a passing thought is all," Kain said dazedly.
"I see. Was it beneficial?" he pressed slightly.
"I'm not sure yet, Achilles," Kain answered honestly. "Things do not appear beneficial at the time they are revealed. Only when they are put into action with the correct flow of time they can be determined as a good thing. Many things will begin to happen soon," he responded wisely. Achilles smiled and watched Kain admirably.
"HEY! Get back here!!!" yelled a voice from behind the two.
Kain and Achilles turned to see Herz running past them with Jack chasing after her.
"I said, get back here, Herz!" Jack yelled again.
"You'll never catch Herz! Herz is busy and will not be discovered by you again!" she yelled back.
"You were impersonating Ridley! How dare you?!" he yelled as he tripped from a loose stone on the bridge. "UHWAH….!!!" He had fallen flat on his face. Pushing himself off the ground, he jumped into a fighting stance. "Only sissies run away from fights!" he called toward her.
Herz stopped abruptly in her tracks and turned toward him. "Are you calling Herz a coward?!" she asked approaching Jack while pulling out her lance. "Herz will make you pay!"
A battle ensued and Jack was the victor. "Don't impersonate Ridley again, or I won't go easy on you next time!" he warned.
Herz flinched before sitting up. She had a horrible bruise forming on her right cheek where Jack had hit her with the flat side of his sword. She placed a hand on her right cheek and got up completely. "Herz won't go easy on you next time, either!"
"Excuse me," said a warm voice from behind the two. Both Herz, Jack, Achilles, and Kain turned to see Miranda approach Herz and Jack. Her brown hair flowed gracefully after her. She stepped between the two and said, "You're both really badly injured," she said examining Jack and Herz from afar.
"No way!" Jack exclaimed. "I'm just fine!" he said with a smile.
"You're shaking, Mr. Jack. You should get some rest. Here," she said as she healed him. "Go to sleep now, okay?" she smiled.
Jack sighed. He didn't have the will to argue with Miranda. She always did heal him and he was very tired. He left down to his house underneath the bridge and turned in for the day.
Miranda turned to Herz. "Are you going to be okay, Miss Herz?" she asked gently.
"I'll be fine, Miranda. You shouldn't worry so much," she said looking away. "You scared him off. I could have taken him easily."
"But…" Miranda began. "You were both in bad shape. If things continued, you would have gotten major injuries." She healed Herz before helping her to her feet. "Live to fight another day when the situation does matter and not for petty reasons," she concluded.
Herz scoffed before wandering away from Miranda. "Whatever." Miranda stared at her disappearing form with a sad expression. "People are getting so cold these days."
"Miranda," Kain said addressing her. "That was a kind thing you did."
"You think so?" Miranda said with slight embarrassment. "Master Godwin taught me to be compassionate to everyone and everything because we are all equal."
"He is a wise teacher," Kain replied.
"By the way, have you seen him anywhere?" she asked with concern.
Kain thought for a moment. "Did you try on the other side of the shrine near the Mortal Tree Hallway outside?"
"Not yet. Thank you! I'll go look for him there right now!" she exclaimed running off in the direction of the shrine.
"These children…they're all so strong," Kain said happily. "Even Vitas who believes that she doesn't belong here; she is strong too."
"Why did you bring up Vitas?" Achilles asked.
"Vitas has a troubling life. Because of her childhood, it's hard for her to adapt to quite a few things. She has many trials to deal with."
"Everyone in Olacion has difficult trials," Achilles stated.
"True, but Vitas's life is about to take a sharp turn, maybe even in a horrifying direction," Kain stated.
"I see…" Achilles said.
Nothing else was said and Kain returned to the shrine to speak for a while longer. As soon as his sermon was over, Achilles left the building after briefly bowing to the high priest.
Kain left to the first pew on the right and took a seat, engaging himself in meditation.
Meanwhile, Flau and Eon met outside, hiding behind the walls of the shrine. Achilles left and the two had to keep distinctively quiet, which wasn't hard for their line of work.
As soon as Achilles was out of sight, Flau turned to Eon and whispered, "Alright, I need you to distract him while I search the Mortal and Universal hallways for the pendant. If I need you to bring him out of the chapel, I'll point to the front door while passing between the hallways. If I don't find the pendant, I'll give you thumbs down signal and we'll come back later, thumbs up means that I've found and retrieved the pendant."
"Understood, Flau," Eon said with malice causing Flau to roll her eyes. There was nothing more annoying at the moment than to deal with Eon's arrogance.
"Let's go then. I'm going to check the Mortal Tree Hallway first. That's the richest faction of the shrine right now," she stated.
"Take your time," Eon said confidently. Flau left to the other side of the shrine as Eon ripped his ninja outfit in several areas looking as if he'd been attacked. Taking one of his daggers, he cut his arm and spread the blood over the tears of his ninja outfit. He then entered the front door. He spotted Kain and then started moaning in fake pain. Eon had actually been through much worse pain. A few cuts to the arm were nothing. He began to stagger, continuing to moan in pain. "H-help me…" he pleaded, stumbling to the ground.
Kain slowly got up from the pew and approached Eon who dramatically outstretched his hand toward him. "Please…help me…"
Kain looked down at Eon obviously knowing he was bluffing. He sighed and waved his arm carelessly, healing the cut on his arm and disintegrating the blood. "Is that all, Eon? Even I know that you are unaffected by such small wounds. You ruined a perfectly good ninja outfit too."
Eon felt a pang of fear and defeat as he struggled to think of another idea. His primary plan worked, but he needed to construct another and FAST!
"There were Vareth students assaulting the shrine. I fought them off and they ran off quickly. Maybe you should report the incident to Vancoor to investigate," Eon said shakily, amazed that he sounded convincing to himself.
Kain stared down at Eon. Could he have overlooked something? Kain nodded, "I'll look into it. I won't involve Vancoor until I know for sure, Eon." Eon sighed with relief before nodding. "By the way, why would someone like you be concerned for the well-being of others? You are usually distant," Kain observed.
Eon felt a pang of fear of being discovered, however he kept cool and said in response, "I may be distant, but I usually do what I want. I don't like those Vareth scum anyway. They smell of trouble."
Meanwhile, Flau had begun infiltrating the Mortal Tree Hallway, starting with the closest room to the door; Vitas's room. She found no pendant in the room. Next was Dwight's; still nothing. She then continued to Anastasia's room. This took longer to look through than the other's because of all the excessive things Anastasia owned. It was comparable to Dwight's room.
She scowled at the throne. Who in their right mind would want one inside a shrine? She left the room and poked her head out into the chapel. She saw Eon facing her way and gave him the arrow signal which meant for Eon to lead Kain away from the chapel so that she could sneak to the other side of the shrine to search the Universal Tree Hallway.
Eon looked back at Kain and said, "Let's go now before they escape completely. I'm sure we could catch up to them now."
Kain shook his head. "Let karma handle this. I know that Vancoor is a disciplinary school. The headmaster will find out about the incident if it truly did occur and he will deal with it responsibly. It is not my place to punish them myself."
Flau rolled her eyes. Why does he always have to be so stubborn? she asked herself. She left from the door and decided to sneak around to the other hallway from the outside. Waiting until the coast was clear; she pressed her back against the shrine wall and snuck into the building from the side. Once inside, she checked all the rooms within the hallway, all of which were plain and held no monetary value. She made a mental note to herself that a good place to steal from would be the people who had rooms in the Mortal Tree hallway.
She placed a hand upon her hip and sighed with frustration. Where in heaven's name was the pendant?! She left to the door that led to the chapel in that hallway to see what Eon was doing. When she opened the door, she was met with two neon green eyes. "Why hello, Miss Flau," said Kain as he smiled brightly.
Flau gave a nervous smile before lifting her right hand and saying, "Hey." She felt her cheeks reddening. Never in her life had she felt so embarrassed. She was actually caught in the middle of a job.
"What brings you here at this time of night?" Kain asked still smiling.
"Uh…well…nothing m-much…" Flau stuttered trying to stay calm. She could not stop the beating in her chest caused by the sudden appearance of Kain and the exhilaration of being caught.
Kain folded his arms. "What are you looking for? Usually you'd be out resting at this time of night."
Flau avoided his eyes. If she didn't, she'd end up spilling every secret she kept to him all at once, so she just stared at the floor. "I'm just wandering like I always do."
He chuckled. "What's so interesting about the shrine, Miss Flau?"
Flau felt her cheeks reddening even more. She wanted to say more than anything that he was interesting but kept her self-control. "Nothing really, Kain," she said. She happened to look up and see Eon sneaking around the chapel in search of the pendant. She let out an inaudible sigh of relief. After a minute of searching, Eon shook his head, making sure Flau got the message, and then left back to the Black Town of Night and Lust.
The pendant was not inside of the shrine. Flau had to return empty-handed. What misfortune had decided to rain upon her the last few days?
Kain had noticed her silence and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Is everything alright?" Flau cringed beneath his touch slightly but did not move from her position. She felt herself begin to blush again as the warmth of his hand spread upon her shoulder. He was so warm and welcoming, while she was cold and distant. "You know you can tell me anything you want, Miss Flau."
"Stop that!" she yelled startling Kain a bit. He relinquished his hand and gave her a questioning look. "Stop calling me 'Miss' Flau. I don't like it. It's bothersome and formal. I don't walk around calling you 'Mister' Kain now do I?" she said forcefully.
"So you just want me to call you 'Flau' then, correct?" Kain asked.
"Whatever…just don't put 'Miss' in front of my name," she said closing her eyes and folding her arms.
After a moment or so, she felt his warm hand slip beneath her chin. Her eyes shot open and she stared into his luminous green eyes which were inches away from her face. "Flau it is then," he said softly removing his hand from her chin and turning to step back into the chapel.
Flau stood there bewildered as her cheeks reddened even more. She placed her hand where his had been and closed her eyes in a reverie. She shot them open as she realized what had really happened in the eyes of a bandit; she allowed herself to be taken off guard. She scolded herself mentally, but savored the moment when he was so close to her; when his warmth spread upon where he had caressed her chin and touched her shoulder.
She wandered out of the shrine through the side exit in a daze. The ground passed by so quickly that she had to shake herself awake in order to prevent from tripping upon the pavement. She finally made it to the place where she hung out every night; by the bridge over Jack's house. She perched herself atop the bricks and dazed out watching the sky, and soon falling asleep.