Bendix Llewellyn, son of Charlotte Llewellyn and Leroy Grumman, was investigating the unfamiliar house and was currently exploring the attic when he heard a soft whimpering noise. He sighed deeply as he pushed away a spin web. "Hey, Tempest, get out from wherever you are hiding," he sighed deeply. "I know that you are here."

For a moment, there was silence before Jade landed on her feet after jumping from a hidden spot. She dusted off her pullover and smirked confidently. "You called, sir?" she asked amused.

"You cried," he pointed out. "Jade, I have known you since we were kids. What's up with you?"

She crossed her arms. "My eyes are red because it is dusty and I am allergic."

"Uh-hu," he said as he rolled his eyes. "Jade, I heard you cry and so I called you."

"I am feeling useless," she admitted after a moment. "I feel so very useless because no one needs me anymore. Phil has a life in NorthCity and Roy is happy in the East. I am the one left behind."

"You are the best translator in the entire army and I would always say that there is no one out in this country who could be a real rival for you, Jade," he said. "You know this. You are the expert for so many things … start trusting yourself a little more and you will soar again. You know this."

She rolled her eyes. "I am not so sure, Bendix," she said softly. "Maybe my time is over."

"You aren't even thirty," he said amused. "Sorry, I didn't mean to belittle your feelings, Jade, but you have been someone the entire headquarters has relied on for years now. You are one of us."

"There is no us, Bendix," she replied slowly. "You see, we are fools – all of us. You and I, we are in exile. We don't belong to the South. We are children of the West and of the capital. Well, you also belong to the North because that's where your dearest princess lives."

"You have to keep teasing me about this, huh?" he sighed.

"Indeed," she said before the smile fell from her face. "You can be happy that I have no friend with whom I could gossip about your feelings, Llewellyn."

"You are lonely without your best friend and your brother, aren't you?" he asked calmly as he looked at her. "I know how you feel. I miss Liv as well."

"With the exception that you still see her," she sighed. "I hardly see Lynn and the others anymore. That's sad because well, I care about them a lot more than I care about most people."

"I would think that you are jealous if I wouldn't know a little bit better than that," he sighed.

She rolled her eyes. "Jealousy would make me even more pathetic than I already am," she said as she rose. "Anyway, I shall check on my brother and then I will get back to my translation. I think I just got the main pattern and maybe I can break it down now."

He looked after as she disappeared within a swirl of air and smiled. "You aren't complicated, huh?" he muttered. "I think that's what I will always admire about you."

"Admiration from you?"

"I was wondering when you would show up, Liv," he said as he turned around. "You were waiting on the stairs until you saw Jade pass, right?"

"You know me too well," she said after a moment. "Say, what did you two talk about?"

"She feels caged lately," he replied. "Work isn't going as planned and she is getting impatient because she has been waiting for a new script and she has been planning a trip to Aerugo which has not been approved of yet and she is literally doing nothing at work right now. That makes her question her value more than she should."

"I can hardly imagine that she willingly talked about this with you, Ben."

"Yeah, you probably know me too well too," he grinned. "But still, she didn't say it but this is her true problem. She does not mind that her brother stopped needing her or that she is stuck in SouthCity while everyone else is somewhere else. When she had work to do, she was calmer and less prone to emotional outbursts. She is still the same stoic girl we have known all along."

"She will get back to herself soon," the blonde replied as she absentmindedly rubbed the scratch on her cheekbone. "A twig scratched me when I ran after Victoria," she explained with a shrug.

"You really like that girl if you got hurt for her," he said as he wiped away the blood from her cheek. "Or is this too hard for you to admit, Liv?"

She rolled her eyes. "That girl won't need protection much longer," she stated. "One day soon, she will be strong enough to walk on her own, to make her own decisions. Even now she shows more promise than I have seen when I look at recruits. This girl has a dream hidden inside of her, a dream longing to be lived. She will walk her way through flames and ruins if necessary."

"A girl like you," he replied.

She smiled but did not deny anything.

The midwinter dinner had been anything but eventful and to Riza, it was obvious that her uncle was relieved because he had been restless the entire time. She had not spoken much with him so far because he had been busy with preparations for most of the time she had been there and now, as she finally tried to approach him because everything else would be rude, the door to the living room flew open and a stranger rushed in.

And this was strange because the streets had been closed for hours now and no train had been able to make it to WestCity in the past few days because of the snow fall. Seeing that she was on a vacation until after midwinter, she did not mind it as much as Jade who was getting more and more restless inside the house and had to be calmed down by both Lynn and Brigadier General Llewellyn who were both used to her restlessness because both of them had worked with her.

Peter turned around as the stranger entered and raised his eyebrow. "You are late for dinner," he said as he took the coat from her. "And I would ask how you managed to get through the snow but I guess that I wouldn't like the answer so I won't even ask."

"I walked from Lutetia," she replied as she sat down on the couch. "That's why I took so damn long to get here. By the way, I brought presents for everyone. I had your butler telling me the exact amount of guests and everything."

"Did I ever mention how happy I am that you are on my side?"

"Yes," she replied. "Oh, hello there, Nessa. It has been a while, hasn't it?"

The blonde averted her gaze from the novel she had been reading while Miles had his arms wrapped firmly around her and smiled friendly. "I had hoped that you would make it, Cathy."

Riza raised her eyebrow as Nerissa rose from her couch and approached the newcomer to hug her tightly. "I think that you should get some tea before you get sick," the blue-eyed woman said cheerfully. "But, no, you stay and chat with dad and Riza. I will-"

"I am already going," Jade said as she closed her book and got up. "I need something to do."

Lynn was about to say something or so it seemed but then she closed her mouth again and sneezed once more. "Damn this cold," she muttered as she grabbed her cup of tea again. "This is really no fun, I mean, why did I have to fall ill on midwinter?"

"There, there," Kay said amused as she patted her head. "I think you sound a lot better by now."

"As soon as I can run without having a headache, I will go after you and I will kill you, Kay," Lynn promised. "And then you shall regret that you ever made fun of me."

"This would be less scary if we wouldn't know that Lynn will keep this promise," the stranger said as she turned in Riza's direction. "The name is Catherina, I'm Peter's oldest friend," she said friendly. "And since Nerissa kept me updated, I heard a lot about you, Riza."

"Oh, really?" Riza asked. "Because I have no idea who you are, madam."

"Dad's old flame," Lynn said with a chuckle. "Or that's what we think – where's Olivier?" she asked, interrupting herself.

Olivier Armstrong was a woman with a mission and so she slammed the door shut after she had followed Jadelina Tempest into the kitchen where the black-haired woman had been making tea. "We have something to discuss, Lieutenant Colonel," the blonde started darkly.

"No, you have something to realise, Major General," the black-haired woman said as she crossed her arms. "Or to word it differently: you have been blind and oblivious for years, Student President. You have no idea what you have been doing all those years."

"I have not interfered with anything as it still seemed like he was in love with you, Vice-President," Olivier replied and wondered how long it had been since she had called Jade by this title. She remembered that it had been probably the time she had congratulated Jade for winning a competition for their school but she did no longer know which one.

"And this is where it starts: he has never been in love with me."

"You are lying," Olivier replied. "You are the one who can kill with a smile."

"Ever thought that he might have been not literal when he said that?" Jade asked as she stoically sipped on her tea. "I am flattered that you consider me cold or creepy enough to be smiling when I kill but I have to tell you that no, I never smile when I kill."

"You were elected to be the girl most guys wanted to have as their girlfriend."

"Lucky you, Bendix is hardly 'most guys' or would you argue that he is like those idiots who broke into our locker room to watch us change?" Jade smiled. "I want you to know that I talked with him over this entire confusion and so I can inform you that the woman he loves can take care of herself, she is patient enough to wait for her turn. And that's not me."

"But you are the one who never surrenders and who is years ahead of her time," Olivier replied.

"Maybe but I am not steady. I am truly like air, full of change and surprises," she shrugged as she looked over the rims of her glasses. "I am not a promise, I am a threat. Remember that."

Olivier looked at her. "I never hurt him."

"Aside from breaking his heart by simply not getting it, yes," the state alchemist said. "As a more or less unconcerned onlooker, I'd say that you bring out the best and the worst in him. Plus, he is one you were ever showing kindness too. Oh, and maybe Victoria gets to see your nicer side too but the rest still sees you as the merciless queen of the Briggs." She sighed. "You may not want to admit it but the only reason why you suspected me instead of any other woman in this world is that I am your anti-thesis, the anti-Olivier."

Olivier raised her eyebrow. "No," she said. "I suspected you because you are the most like me without being me. That's the difference between it. We are alike, both doing whatever we want to do, both being never fooled and deceived by someone else's plans and both stubborn to the end. Well, this is the reason why I thought that it might be you."

Jade chuckled. "You should have remembered something I always said: happiness is not part of my agenda. I have other goals for the moment – like a promotion and a transfer away from SouthCity because this town is driving me crazy. And no one wants another crazy state alchemist."

"You would always be welcome in Briggs," Olivier said.

"I would mess up the hierarchy there and I know how much you value order," she smiled. "No, I intend to get to Central City. They aren't prepared for me there."