Chapter 16 – Mother's Insight

There was the stale smell of sweat, ointment, and water vapor fuming into Morgant Debourke's nostrils as he entered his mother's chamber. "Mother?" He whispered to see if she was awake.

"Is that you Morgant?" A quiet, weak, but gentle voice asked. There was a woman lying on a large red velvet bed, her pale skin looked ghastly from being bedridden for so long. Her light yellow hair was dull and cold sweat was permeating from all over.

"Yes mother" Morgant replied, sitting next to his ill mother, Annabelle Debourke.

She smiled weakly, trying her best to not let the pains of her illness show, "My sweet child." Just as she was about to get up to kiss him, she began to cough. The lady of the House of Debourke had been ill, on and off for about six months months now. Since the doctors were not sure if there were any signs of her being in stable condition, Morgant was given head of the house until then.

"Mother please, you need to rest" He replied, helping her lie down.

"Morgant my dear..." Annabelle whispered, "I hope you are not working yourself too hard my son"

"Tis no trouble at all dearest Mother" Morgant whispered in reply, sitting back down.

"I'm sorry for getting ill like this son... You are but a child. You need to spend your time playing, not doing work. Work is for adults..." His mother rambled on an on before quietly dozing off to sleep.

The sight was quite painful for him to watch as he leaned forward and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Please get well soon mother" Indeed something was nagging at the young lordling from the pit of his heart, and it pained him much that he couldn't talk to his mother about it. After all, he was just but a child calling out for his mother.

ooo

With three fifths of the total debt of Clyde Bournes covered by Irene herself, Liette and company had much pressure taken off their hands. When asked about how she had amassed such an amount of money ready to so easily expend, Irene replied that she had much money saved up from her information networks.

"It was just sitting there in the bank anyway. I had no use for it, so it would have been a waste"

With two weeks passed, the Squad only had another two weeks left until their deadline with Morgant Debourke.

So, with a hasty sweep through the district and surrounding towns, each member of the Private Investigation Squad found some sort of income source to help fill the gap towards their goal.

Liette found use of the cooking skills she learned in the Military and found a job as a chef at a small restaurant in Florisa.

Rivaille wasn't so eager in working like a common person, but he managed roam around as a for hire cleaner, the way he describes it. But rather, it was simply a freelance housekeeper job.

Peter looked to his father for some work, which gave his father much joy. His father now understood the phobias that Peter was going through, and did his best to accommodate Peter's preferences. Peter declined, saying that it was time he tried to become a man.

Kristell became a mail deliverer for areas around the Chlorba District and the Yalkell District. She took Hooter wherever she went in case she got lost on her delivery rounds.

Zackley found some solace in becoming a part time librarian. He was there almost everyday anyway during his spare time anyway.

Urdin landed a job as a farm hand in a nearby village since he was more rustic. It was very laboring work, but the man was very satisfied with it.

Nelson got a job, oddly enough, as a stable boy (or rather, man) since he used to tend the horses and animals back in Rogers Circus.

Since Elsa was still rather young, she was only able to land employment as a dish washer for the same restaurant that Liette was working at. Much to her displeasure, she grudgingly did her job, trying to stay awake in the process.

Gus wasn't in really any position to devote any money towards the squad effort, as, him and his small band of thieves were trying to lie low for the moment. Rivaille still wasn't too happy to have someone like him amongst their ranks, but Liette managed to keep him in check.

That left Irene to be the only one who was without a job, not that she even needed it. She usually stayed put at the HQ, doing garden work to make the old building look a bit more lively. From Liette's observations, it was understood that Irene enjoyed a simple life, despite having many luxuries. She seemed very happy, tending to her garden.

Now that she kind of thought about it, the same sort of principle could have applied to everyone. Her and cooking, or Rivaille and cleaning, Zackley with reading and Elsa with sleeping. It actually hit her that no matter who the person is, no matter how special they might seem because of their standing, or title, they have a quirky side to themselves. It made Liette smile, honestly.

But there was still one thing that was tugging at her in the back of her mind. It was about Kristell and the conversation they had weeks before, about her stepfather. Bournes was very quiet throughout these two weeks, and Liette wondered why. Every time she came to speak with him, he would very securely close the door to his study, as if he was hiding something.

Whenever Liette confronted him about chipping in for his debt repayment, he replied very bluntly that he had no money to spare. When inquired about where his money was going, he replied like so, "It's a very complicated situation. I hardly doubt a soldier like you would understand"

It was a very direct and cocky insult, and bit by bit, Liette understood why Kristell was fuming with hate at the man. Unfortunately, as hard as Liette tried, there was no past information about this man known as Clyde Bournes. No records of him in any archive that she tried to look.

He claimed to be a merchant hailing from the outer wall Maria, but even Irene hadn't the slightest clue who he was. Though, not expecting Irene to know that names of every merchant, big time or small. The point was that he was shady, mysterious, and possibly lying to the point where even Irene couldn't find anything.

However, there was an interesting point that one of the Stationary Guard Liette was chatting with before brought up. He had heard some rumors of a con artist streaking about through each of the Districts.

"Con artist?" Liette asked, taking a keen interest in the topic.

"Yea, a con artist, you know, someone who tricks others to get something from them."

It certainly sprang a few questions into Liette's mind, especially about Clyde Bournes, "Or is that his real name...?" She asked herself.

ooo

The faint breathing of Annabelle Debourke quietly sank through Morgant's ears, leading him to sorrowfully look down at the floor as he closed the door behind him. It seemed that every time he visited his mother for the past month, he had began to feel more and more guilty about his actions. It strained the child even more to imagine what pain his mother would be if she had heard about the terrible things he had done. He was lost in his own swell of self-anguish as he sat at his chair.

It took him a while to realize that one of his servants was calling to him.

"Milord"

Breaking from his quiet thoughts, he asked, "What is it?"

The servant was quite confused, "The peasants are here to meet with you. It's the daily routine."

"Oh... right"

"Is the work being too stressful for you sire?" He asked, "You could retire for today if you feel the need"

"No no, I'm perfectly alright" Morgant replied, telling him to send in his first visitor.

He was a ragged man, and one could tell that he was living in poverty. His face was stricken with worry and nervousness as he bowed at the foot of the steps leading to Morgant's throne.

"State your name"

"Gregory" The man replied, looking upward, but quickly down realizing that it might have been disrespectful.

"Oh, you're that fellow who owes taxes to me no?"

"Y-yes sir!" Gregory replied, holding a small satchel, "I-I'm sorry sir, but this is all I have"

Morgant didn't move, and instead, rested his hand on his palm, "How much did you owe?"

"T-two hundred pieces"

"How much do you have there right now?"

"F-fifty two"

It was indeed difficult for Morgant to reply, as part of him wanted to punish the man for not being able to pay his due, but another part showed compassion. He felt this before, and up until then, he couldn't comprehend it, but it wasn't until his mother talked to him, if only a little, the night before.

Morgant dear, please... if I do not recover... from this illness... promise me son... promise me that you will watch over our house... with dignity and honesty... and compassion...

"Compassion..." He murmured to himself.

"I'm so sorry young master, b-but my family, this is all we can afford to give. This is all of our money"

"Shut it" Morgant replied in slight frustration, as his child mind would put it. "Stand up"

Gregory did so promptly.

"Take your money and go. You need not worry about your debt for now" The young lordling said, waving his hand for the peasant to leave.

"T-thank you sire!" Gregory said, bowing profusely.

"Yes yes, now please go" Watching the man go, Morgant slightly smiled. He thought about the mans family, his children. Morgant himself was only 12 years old, his childhood nonexistent, occupied by study and noble etiquette. His father died years before, and his mother was much busy. But he knew, deep inside, that his mother did it all for him.

He realized that that father worked for his children, something that Morgant always wished he had, a father. For him to take that away from his children, he couldn't bear what his mother would think is she found out.

Perhaps it was his way of escaping guilt, perhaps it seemed selfish, but he still couldn't help but feel a bit better inside.

ooo

"So why'd you call me down here?" Gus asked, taking a seat at the table where Liette and Rivaille were sitting at. Liette specifically, requested that Gus come to Florisa to meet with her. She had a particular job for him.

"I'm not in trouble am I? Cause I haven't done anything since the beginning of this month" He was still a bit untrusting of them, keeping his skepticism to himself.

"No you're not" Liette assured as she planted her hands on the table, "I called you here because I wanted to hire you for something"

"Hire me?"

"Yes" She nodded in reply, "You're an expert lock picker right?"

"Well I'm a thief, and a thief should know how to do these kind of things." Gus replied, tugging lightly on his goatee, "I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I do know a thing or two"

"Good" Rivaille surprisingly said, "Liette is telling me that this Clyde fellow is a big time criminal, but she has no evidence to prove it."

"You've been to Kristell's home haven't you?" Liette asked, filling in the details.

"I suppose, yes."

"Well, Kristell has told me, and from what I've seen, Clyde Bournes is definitely hiding something in his study. What I want you to do is to break into there, and search for any hard proof"

Gus had is arms crossed in a silent risk reward thought process, "My instincts where right. Somethings not right about that guy"

"Yea, and we're giving you the opportunity to stop this man in his tracks. From what I hear, he's got a pretty radical crime history" Rivaille added, rubbing his palms together to make sure they haven't gone in contact with something sticky.

Again, the petty thief (according to Rivaille now) thought about what his potential options were. "What's in it for me?"

"Well" Liette folded her hands, "At the rate that all of us are pooling our incomes, we should have a surplus by the time the month comes to an end. Whatever exceeds the amount we needed to cover is yours to do whatever."

He was a bit doubtful, asking to make sure his gain was quite substantial, "How much do you guys have right now?"

"Around forty-seven thousand including what Irene put in" Rivaille said, "By the end of the month, Zackley estimates that we would have an extra five thousand at least"

"Five thousand huh..." Gus murmured, "Enough to feed a few families for months..." Again, the thoughts of others where priority for him, as a good natured thief. "Okay, what if I get busted?"

"Don't worry, Kristell will make sure that won't happen. She will ensure that her house will be accessible for you."

"I see. So all I have to do is break into the guys room, and search the place out?"

"Exactly, and if you do get something that'll help us lock this guy up" Rivaille began to say, "I'll let you off easy since you're a small time offender"

It seemed a bit redundant to Gus for Rivaille to say that since Liette was letting him off anyway, but he agreed on their offer. Besides, Gus himself was quite concerned about this Clyde man, and curious as well.

The agreed upon night was seven days after their meeting. The flow of events would go as followed. Since Kristell's mother was still very trusting of Clyde, Gus simply picking the lock to his study in broad daylight would sound alarms. So, they opted to conduct this at night when she and Clyde were both asleep.

Kristell would ensure that her parents were asleep, and leave the doors open for him to easily slip in quietly.

If in any case he were to get caught, he was instructed to allow Kristell apprehend him since she was a Stationary Guard.

Now the first step of the operation was successful. Zackley managed to get inside Kristell's home without making a large amount of noise. It was quite easy for him anyway. He's done this kind of thing far too many times to count, so it was very natural.

Silently shutting the door behind him, he continued onward. Kristell's home was quite lavish, or rather, decorated. The interior was quite nice, and showed that her family was well above average in wealth. It was indeed true as Kristell's mother worked as a court painter, and she was often patronized by many top people.

After quickly appreciating all the nice things that Kristell's family had, Gus tip toed quickly up the stairs, making sure that he did not tread on loose floor boards.

Once up there, he looked down both paths of the hallway, making sure that all the doors were closed, and that light snoring was heard. At the end of the hall way to his left, he saw Kristell holding a candle lamp next to her door, signaling for the okay. Replying with a hand signal, he continued carefully.

Kristell had told him that she had a few siblings to watch out for, though, their rooms were on the other side of the hallway, so he needn't worry about that.

According to her, Clyde's study was all the way down the hall, to his left. Crouching down close to the knob, Gus peeked into the pitch black keyhole before pulling out a small too bag from his coat. Unrolling it, it revealed a multitude of small pointed instruments that were used to primarily to open locks. He pulled out two of his favorites, and stuck them inside the pitch black keyhole to see what kind of lock was used for the door.

To his delight it was a simple lock, and after a few moments of fidgeting around a bit, he heard a click.

"Nice and easy..." He whispered hastily cleaning up his tools, he turned the knob and quickly entered Clyde's study, closing the door behind him.

"Some hard evidence huh..." Gus said to himself as he began his search. He was anticipating greatly that he would find something groundbreaking, but what he actually found was even more than what he expected.

ooo

Morgant was gently holding his mothers hand as she quietly spoke, "Morgant... how was your day today?"

"The same as usual mother" The boy replied as his mother squeezed his hand, but he didn't finish his statement, lying to her to conceal the influx of sorrow building in his heart.

"That's glad to... hear" Her weak voice croaked with a bleak tiresome whisper before she became quiet again.

It was a terrifying silence for Morgant, like all the times it became silent.

"Mother..." Morgant fought up the urge to ask, "Are you going... to die...?"

His mother smiled gently before holding his hand a bit tighter, "My son. Please be strong, please do.. the right things..." And with that, she closed her eyes, to Morgant's relief, asleep.

He was stressed, and fearful. He knew not what terrible fate his mother was heading towards, and he did not know how he was supposed to deal with it. He was too busy lamenting over losing the last of his family while moping in his room to notice his servant.

"The doctors said that she has not long to live. Her condition is not getting better." He regretfully said.

"I see..." The child said, his hands folded as he trembled. He never experienced this kind of fear before. "Tomorrow is the deadline, for which the Silver Haired Striker will report to me..." he said before looking up with tears in his innocent eyes, "Am I truly fit... to be this houses leader?"

ooo

Today was the deadline that Morgant had instructed for Liette and her squad to bring the requested amount of money. As expected, they met their goal, and gave the extra to Gus as payment for his exceptional job days before.

With Gus's aid, they had managed to find out much more than what they expected about Clyde Bournes, but that was shoved to the back of Liette's mind as she walked through the hall of Morgant's estate with Rivaille following behind her. A large sack of money was jingling at her waist, and she was holding it to try to reduce the amount of noise it made. It was attracting the eyes of very interested Stationary Guard.

Morgant's servant led them the same way they came the first time, and giving his excuses, he slid through the door to inform the young lord about his guests.

"Is this a good time?" He asked Morgant from the door. Servant and maid alike, they were quite concerned about the mental health of the young boy, especially since he was going through such an ordeal that not even grown men can handle properly.

"It's fine" Morgant replied, resting his cheek on his palm.

"Lord Debourke, we have what you requested" Liette said, holding the sack of coins, weighing it to try to prove to him that it was what it was.

"Mmhhh... Excellent" He tried to sound like his usual child stricken self, but he was too occupied to do so.

Liette and Rivaille noticed, and they took a ponder as to what had happened in the month that they had not met with him. "Is Mister Bournes with you?"

Liette shook her head, "Mister Bournes has been caught in an unfortunate turn of events, and cannot make it today" She almost said that with a smile, but she refrained.

"No matter. I didn't even need to see him anyway, as long as I get my money back" The lordling replied standing up to take the sack of money in his hands. It was very heavy for him, and his servant offered to carry it, but he declined. "Please, come with me"

He led both Liette and Rivaille to his room, or rather, room and study. Like that of a boy, his room was plastered with toys of the like. Wooden figurines of soldiers were displayed neatly on his nightstand. He had a glass case with a few reptiles in it, showing his interest in lizards and the like. A stuffed bear was sitting in the middle of his round table.

But along the side of his room close to the entrance was bookshelves. It didn't seem like it, but Morgant was very educated for his age, as he explained briefly while Liette and Rivaille took their seats.

His tone of voice was still low and disheartened, and, dropping the sack of money onto the table, he began to speak. "As you can see, you have successfully completed what I asked, and now I shall grant you what you seek." As he spoke, he pulled out a few papers from a folder that was on his desk, "It took me a while to finish reading this, but I will try to convey it as best I can."

Clearing his throat a moment, "We pick this narrative up at where it left off, where Norma had suggested they hide the plans..."

You understand that Roger Dalton had created a circus in an attempt to cover his tracks from the theft of the plans correct?

Well it served multiple purposes. For one, it helped him evade the investigations of the military, but it also helped him search for a suitable hiding place for it, yet, to this day, no one knows where it is hidden. For another purpose, it helped him conduct his crime business without anyone suspecting anything. Many of the staff in that circus were previous members of his crime regime, opting to go on the road with him from District to District. He made many businesses during those years following his hiding, most prominently, slave trading.

Through each village he visited, each town he set up a tent, he adopted a handful or orphans to his staff. He had no problem feeding them, clothing them, he had money that exceeded many peoples savings on hand. He adopted them, making them think they had a home, only to sell them off to his friends and business partners as slaves.

From this point, Morgant actually had a difficult time continuing , as his voice was croaky, and his hands were trembling. He felt scared, despite having read this before.

"Is there something wrong?" Rivaille asked.

"I-It's nothing" He replied, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat.

ooo

"Clyde! Clyde! For heavens sake, will you talk to me for one second?" Kristell's mother asked, worried about a Clyde Bournes that was ignoring her, hastily packing things away into a suit case.

"I can't! I must go now!" His voice was nervous, and he desperately tried to cram all his things into his suitcase.

"Why the sudden leave?" She suspiciously replied, "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"It's nothing dear!" Clyde replied, "I have urgent business to attend to on the inner wall, and I can't afford the time. I must go!" In his mind, he was profusely cursing the situation he was in right now, "That damn step daughter! Her stupid meddling. Why isn't she dead yet? I heard the attack on the Shiganshina District, she should have died a long time ago! And my plan was almost flawless..."

His silent rant was interrupted by the slamming open of the front door by a kick, and within seconds, Stationary Guard stormed into the living room, promptly surrounding Clyde's means of escape.

"W-what is the meaning of this?!" Kristell's mother alarmingly asked at the sudden intrusion of her home.

"Clyde Bournes!" It was Kristell's voice sounding as she walked through her front door, holding a document up in the air, "Or rather, Doyle Kreshnick! I have a warrant for your arrest on charges of marriage fraud, conning, theft, identity theft, and tax evasion!"

Kristell's mother didn't react for a moment before she realized what was going on, "Doyle...? Is this true?"

"We caught a thief with these documents on his person. Divorce papers, stolen personal documents, tax papers, and..." She began to say as a guard handed her a satchel of jingling money, "A stash of fifty thousand pieces, stolen from Morgant Debourke."

Doyle was silent through these statements, stiononly muttering curses and slurs to himself. Doyle Kreshnick was a constantly evading criminal, assuming identities of people he had conned into providing personal information to. It had been going on for years, and he had told himself that this last heist would be his final one. Unfortunately for him, this is how it ended.

But much to Kristell's delight to see the man she hated be taken away, she couldn't help but wonder how her mother felt as she approached her afterward.

"Mother..." Kristell said, waiting for a response, and maybe a recognition of her correctness.

Her mother said nothing and embraced her, crying. "You where right... I'm so sorry Kristell..." Not only was she angry at herself for being so naïve into letting such a dangerous man into her life, but she was also mad at herself for her insight to be wrong. She always thought that a mother's insight should be something her children would look up to, and yet, Kristell had proven her wrong.

ooo

With a moment of pause, from his temporary silence of trying to calm himself down, Morgant looked up at Liette, "Sorry. It's a bit... difficult for me to continue..."

"Take your time" Liette nodded, as, she herself was feeling extremely uneasy when hearing this. In fact, her mind was quite blank, as she realized the many faces around the circus that had disappeared the next day. Even some of her friends who were with her one day, gone the next. She never knew what happened, and when she asked, they all said that they left to find better opportunity.

It was a great struggle for Liette to cope with, realizing that many people in her life were lies, scheming with the person she trusted the most as a child.

"I'm sorry, I shall continue now..."

Now you might be thinking as to why I emphasized Roger's slave trading business. Why not his Black Market of weapons and forged documents? Or maybe his dealings with the Military Police? Or perhaps the brothel industry of the Stohess District? There were many things to mention about his slight of corruption across the inner walls, but slave trading was the one that most applied to you Liette.

You see, the actual truth was that... You weren't just another orphan Roger picked up. He was searching for you for a specific purpose. That purpose had something to do with the political powerhouses of the Utopia District. I'm sorry if this comes out as an insult, but you were a political tool for Roger.

There is nothing written in these papers about what purpose you serve with the upper-class, but it had something to do with their ties to the King, and the industries that flourished on the inner walls.

Whether or not is was the bidding of the Paramount, I know not, but what is certain is that... there is an even bigger tie between you and Roger Dalton.

Morgant stopped as he shuffled the papers in his hands. "That was all I was given" With that, he stood up, and attempted to slide the document that was delivered to him by the Paramount.

For a few moment , Liette sat there, going over the endless possible ties between her and Roger. Nothing made sense anymore than it didn't already.

Not knowing anything about herself made absorbing this new information even more difficult for Liette, "What connection do I have with the Utopia District? What connection do I have with Roger...?"

Liette and Rivaille left, leaving Morgant alone in his room. Throughout explaining the information to Liette, he slowly began to realize how pointless the sack of money sitting on his table was. With a sigh of realization, he stood up, picked the sack of money up with his small hands, and carried it out the door with haste.

"Wait!" He called out, trying to speed walk his way to Liette before they left. By the time he reached them, they were already heading towards the bridge to his estate. "Wait!"

Both of them turned around, curious to see what else the lordling had to say to them.

Morgant stopped before them, catching his breath as he lifted the large sack of money in his hands, "Please, take this back."

"Lord Debourke? But why?" Liette asked, tilting her head.

"I realize now that I have no need for it anymore." He said, "In truth, the money was for taking care of a relative of mine, but there is no longer a need." It was difficult for him to lie, but the money was indeed meant for further treatment of his mother. He soon realized the night before that there was no point in prolonging the suffering his mother was going through. It burdened him too great, and he felt that it was the best option.

"I see..." Liette said, gently lifting the weight off the child's hands, and handing it to Rivaille. "Thank you so much Lord Debourke. I can't express how much this means to us"

"I'm glad to be of assistance" Morgant took his cap of and bowed slightly, "Please, eliminate the Paramount. In the name of my father, whom he murdered."

"Understood, your lordship" Liette said as she nodded, and took the playful liberty of rubbing the boys hair.

He didn't react badly, and rather, he smiled a bit before putting his cap back on and waving as Liette departed. "Good luck" He whispered, putting his hands behind his back.

"That was very mature of you Morgant" A voice said behind the young Lords back.

"I know..." His cocky side surfaced again, mistaking the voice for one of his servants.

Little did he know that the person behind him knelt down, and embraced him tightly. That familiar, yet faint smell of sweat and vapor was masked by a lively scent of roses and perfume, that of which his mother used. "I'm so proud of you, my son."

"Mother..." He murmured, turning around to his Annabelle Debourke, standing up. "Mother! What are you doing out of bed?" He was surprised, "You're ill! You need rest!" All of this was through extreme concern.

"My my Morgant" She said, gently planting a hand on his head, "I feel no illness anymore."

"But... but how...?" He was quite confused, unsure of whether or not this was a dream.

His mother smile, bringing his head closer to her lap, "I awoke this morning, more alive than I ever have. It was a miracle"

Morgant's voice began to croak as tears began to flow down his cheeks, "Mother..." It was a rush of emotion, so much that he could barely hold back his tears.

"I'm here my son. I'm here to stay." She replied as he dug his face into the fabric of her dress, "Cry all you want my dearest. A mother's insight knows when her child needs to cry the most"

ooo

Who am I...?

Liette asked herself this question over the next few days following her meeting with Morgant Debourke. It was thought provoking, and she couldn't help but feel slightly depressed by it. She was sitting there at the desk in her old room, reading over the letter that Morgant gave to her. Everything that was on there he had not missed.

While sighing, Liette corked open a bottle of wine she was stashing and poured herself a glass. Shortly after, she reached into her pocket and took out the pipe Roger had given her.

Pausing for a moment, she stared at it, trying to think of any plausible scenario that might connect her with Roger even deeper, but she couldn't. Sighing, she took out a small roll of tobacco from her tin cigarette container and stuffed it in.

Even though it was a key to extremely vital information, Liette figured that smoking it wouldn't cause too much problems. After a few puffs, she leaned back into her chair,relaxing for a moment.

It was just her at the abandoned orphanage. Peter and Kristell were with family since they would be embarking on the next district in a few days. Rivaille was out sending a report to Commander Irvin about their progress. Zackley spent some time at the library to act his last few days as a worker there. It was harvest season, so Urdin was still working overtime, and Nelson was in town buying groceries.

Irene and Elsa were meeting with a few associates to discuss important business concerning the next District, and Gus, well, Gus was doing his own thing. Since they no longer need any business with Morgant Debourke, he was no longer obligated to be with them.

The soothing atmosphere calmed Liette's mind, for once in such a long time as she closed her eyes in a well deserved nap.

ooo

"Hello?" Nelson said as he opened the door, "Huh... I guess no one is home yet" In his hands were assorted groceries for their dinner tonight. As he walked down the hallway, he heard a light snoring, and peeking Liette's door, he saw his younger sister, sleeping. He smiled as he took a blanket from her bed and draped it over her.

"Just like when she was younger..." He nostalgically said before closing the door behind him.

A while later, Liette was awoken by a loud laughing sound. Yawning fruitfully to herself in satisfaction, she stood up, pulling off the blanket draped on her and sought out the source of that laughter.

It was Urdin, she could tell, and the delectable aroma of cooked food an alcohol filled her nostrils. Around the table, Urdin, Zackley, Rivaille, and Gus (Whom opted to join them since the District was no longer suffering from as much poverty with the well being of Annabelle Debourke) were playing a game of cards while socially drinking. Irene and Nelson were in the kitchen and the younger ones, Peter, Kristell and Elsa were lounging about.

"You know, I could have helped you guys out" Liette said to Nelson as she leaned on the counter onlooking her squad.

"You're not the only one here who knows how to cook Liette" Irene butted in.

"But you were sleeping, so I didn't want to bother you" Nelson added.

"I suppose so" Liette laughed in return as she smiled brightly. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, laughing, smiling. Even Rivaille had a hint of festivity in his face, something that was all too uncommon for her to see him.

The last time she saw him like this was years back, and it made Liette glad that he was smiling. In fact, this entire scene actually amused her.

"Is this what our lives would look like..." Liette began to wonder as she joined the festivities, "Hey! Save some alcohol for me!"

"Is this what it would look like... if we never joined the Scouting Legion...?"

A/N: This chapter was extremely shaky since it was kind of a filler chapter and I really had no clue what to do for this district, so this is the best I could think of. Oh well, sorry about that though.

Nitpick it all you want, I'm okay with that.

Anyway, I'm aiming to at least finish the Fourth District by the end of the week. By then, I will have revealed one of the biggest plot twists in the story, so stay excited! Because I certainly will be when I write it!

Well, that's all I really have to say about this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and please don't forget to leave a review!