Lucina wears the set of clothing that left Severa speechless to school the next day, and she's baffled by the surge of attention she's getting from everyone. Her mother looked startled that morning when Lucina appeared in the kitchen, and she complimented her daughter on how well put-together she looked. Morgan didn't notice a difference, and Cynthia's eyes went wide when they saw her walk into the school.

"Oh my god. You look so cool now."

"Thank you." Lucina smoothes out her blouse before she thinks about her friend's comment. "Wait, now?"

Cynthia dodges the question. "Are those the clothes that Severa picked out for you?"

"Yeah. They're from a Chon'sin shop in the new mall I was telling you about yesterday." She picks at the fabric of her jacket, ignoring the flutter in her stomach. "Severa said they would look good."

"Well, she's right." Cynthia whistles. "One date, and she's already dressing you. You're kind of whipped, friend."

"I asked her for the assistance," Lucina protests.

"Uh-huh. Did some of this help involve getting close to readjust your clothes?"

Lucina's face feels like it's on fire, and Cynthia bursts into laughter. "You've got it bad! So bad." She leans in close, a mischievous smile on her face. "Did you two kiss? You didn't tell me last night."

Lucina had called Cynthia yesterday to relay her date once she had hauled her new clothes to her room. She shared most of everything that happened but had to cut their conversation short, because Morgan popped his head into her room and started badgering her for details. Even worse, their mother also asked a few questions about her "non-date" during dinner, and Lucina ended up throwing herself into her schoolwork for the rest of the night if only to give everyone an excuse not to bother her.

"Hey, Earth to Lucina? Did you space out daydreaming about your hot date?"

"I was not!" The startled girl doesn't mean to snap, and she blushes at her lack of composure. "And no, we didn't kiss."

"That's terrible! She left my best friend hanging!" Cynthia thumps a fist into her open palm. "We're going to have to change our strategy if she's playing hard to get."

"We are not doing anything of the sort." Lucina tears open her locker and shoves her books into her bag. "And I don't mind, really." She glances sidelong at her best friend. "She wants to go out again today."

"She asked you? Wow, you got her—hook, line, and sinker!" Cynthia cheers.

Lucina shushes her, glancing around the hallway. Laurent is reading a physics book a few lockers down from them. He raises an eyebrow in their direction from the commotion. She grabs Cynthia and begins to walk down the hall. "Let's just head to class."

They enter their chemistry classroom early enough that there are only a few students seated. Nah waves to them from the front row as they make their way to their seats, and a look of surprise crosses her face. "Wow, Lucina. That looks really sharp on you. Where'd you get it?"

"In Regna Ferox. Severa helped me pick it out."

Nah sounds skeptical. "Severa Faulkner helped you?"

"She's got a good eye for fashion."

"And possible girlfriends," Cynthia says under her breath.

Lucina feels her face flare up and shushes her friend. A few seconds later, the topic of their conversation walks into the classroom with Noire. She lifts her eyebrows at their combined staring. "What?"

Nah frowns. "Just surprised. That's two days in a row you've showed up to class. Are you all right, Severa?"

"Shove it, Hakuryu." Severa slips past the smaller girl sitting in the front row, pausing only to glance over Lucina. She ends up staring long enough that Cynthia snickers into her hand and Nah gives her a questioning look before Severa regains her composure, slipping on a smirk that has Lucina melting embarrassingly fast. "Told you that looked great on you."

"Thank you." Lucina watches her and Noire settle into the second row while the latter gives her a shy smile. She realizes that she should check on her progress and heads over to the dark-haired girl, sitting down in the empty seat in front of her. "Hi Noire, how's your training going?"

"Oh! Um...it's going." She sniffles and brings out a tissue from her pocket. "I just got a little sick from the practice with Kjelle a couple of days ago."

The soccer team's goalie told Lucina that she made Noire run around the gym. Once.

"I see. Do you think that you will get better soon?"

"I hope so! I don't want to hold anyone back because I'm sick." Noire glances at her friend beside her. "Especially Severa."

Lucina softens. She's starting to see why they hang out together so often. "Well, maybe it would help if you join Severa and I in practice?"

Severa slams her textbook down and glares at her. Lucina's taken back and wonders what she did wrong. "Is something the matter?"

"Nope. Nothing at all." The redhead bites out the words. "It's not like my opinion matters."

What? "Severa—"

Noire glances between the two of them nervously. "N-no thanks! It's a kind offer, but Kjelle's doing a good job so far."

Lucina frowns and shifts in her seat. Severa's no longer making eye contact with her, and the soccer captain can't help but feel frustrated at how that conversation went. "I see. Well, I'll pass your comments to her, and if you need help with anything, please feel free to ask me."

Noire lets out a small smile. "Thanks, Lucina. I appreciate that." She tucks her hair behind her ear. "I hope Severa isn't being too difficult for you."

At that, her friend shoots her a wounded look. "Me? I'm never difficult."

From up a row, Cynthia snorts and Nah rolls her eyes.

Lucina responds before Severa can pick a fight with either of them. "Not at all. She's showing a lot of promise in her sessions. I have confidence in her ability to pass the trials coming up in two weeks."

Noire drops her eyes. "Do you think I could pass?"

Severa breaks in before Lucina can answer. "Noire, if you really want to, you will. You're so smart that it'd be stupid not to have you on the team." She stares at Lucina. "Right?"

"There may be an opening for a coach's assistant if we ask your mother about it," Lucina says to Severa, ignoring her flinch. "But we'll see. Noire, regardless of what happens, I'll help you. I think, at this point, you're my friend too."

A light comes on in Noire's eyes, and she looks at Lucina with such vulnerability that it touches her. "Thank you. You don't know what that means to me," she says, quietly.

Lucina smiles in response and glances at Severa, who's staring at her with an expression like she's seeing her for the first time. "Is something the matter?"

Severa takes a few seconds to process the question and shakes her head in response. Before Lucina can press her on her reaction, Mrs. Clearwater walks in and gestures them for all of them to sit. Lucina joins Cynthia, despite wanting to sit near Severa. She would feel bad about leaving her friend there under the scrutinizing gaze of the science teacher, especially because it was Lucina who convinced her to sit in the front initially.

Cynthia passes her a note when the teacher's back is turned to the class as the focused woman rapidly writes a few formulas on the whiteboard. Lucina glances at the note, which is a messily scrawled "Smooooooth." She rolls her eyes while her best friend grins at her.

She heads to math next with Cynthia bidding her goodbye before skipping to drama class. As she turns to walk down the hallway, she feels someone gently bump into her, and Lucina's surprised when it's Severa who walks beside her, shoulder brushing against her arm.

"Hi." Lucina's tongue feels thick all of a sudden. "Did you want to talk about something?"

"Like how we only have one science teacher in the whole school?" Severa scoffs before she winces and glances away for a moment. "Yeah, actually, I did. That was really nice. What you said to Noire."

"Was it?" Lucina's slightly puzzled. She was just being honest.

"Yeah, not everyone treats her like you did, which pisses me off, because being mean to Noire is like being mean to a puppy!" Severa seems to realize what she says and stiffens in response. "But you probably don't want to hear me whine about that stuff. Sorry."

Lucina frowns. "Don't be. I like hearing how much you care about your friends."

Severa stumbles and nearly walks into an open door. "Gods, the architectural layout of this school is awful!" She scratches at the corner of her jaw, a flush across her face before she starts scowling. "And whatever, Lucina. You don't have to be so mushy sometimes."

She...wasn't?

"Anyway," Severa glances at her, chin tilted slightly upwards, "Please don't invite Noire again to train with us."

Lucina is baffled. "But why? I thought you would appreciate training with her."

"It's not about that." Severa looks away. "I just..." A myriad of emotions comes across her face from uncertainty to fear before settling on anger—anger, because that's the emotion she seems most comfortable dealing with. She blows past Lucina and heads towards their math classroom down the hall. "Forget it. Talk to you later."

Lucina has no idea what she did to conjure such ire.

Severa doesn't talk to her during class, and Lucina can only speculate what the silent girl is mad about. When the bell rings to signal the end of class and the beginning of lunch, Severa's out the door before Lucina can stand up in her seat. Resigned, she sighs and begins to walk towards the cafeteria where her friends would be waiting when Laurent pops his head out from a nearby class and gestures for her to come in.

Curious, Lucina follows him into an empty classroom, and the normally quiet boy closes the door behind them. "I'm sorry to have called you here like this, but I thought I would be the bearer of bad news in a more private area. Before I deliver this message, I would like to inquire about the nature of your relationship with Severa Faulkner."

Huh? "She requested to join the soccer team, and I agreed to help her train for the trials. And we're friends." Sort of.

"I see. That's admirable." Laurent adjusts his glasses. "Unfortunately, because of your association with Severa, whom many of our members consider a delinquent, we have to discontinue your membership in the Biology Club for fear of being seen as tolerant to her actions."

...she was in the Biology Club?

"Wait. What do you mean by delinquent? And when did I join the Biology Club?"

"Ah, we made you an honorary member last year due to your consistent outstanding performance in the sciences," Laurent elaborates. "It seems we forgot to inform you about it, as you were recuperating in the hospital at the time from a concussion gained in a sports match." He pushes up his glasses. "As for the delinquency, Severa has shown a history of squabbling with our members, and has caused one student to transfer schools after they had a disagreement and she broke his nose."

Lucina remembers that. It fuelled the school gossip machine for several days. "I"m sure she had a good reason for it."

"Perhaps, but as facts go, she has caused us the loss of one promising member. Consequently, we have decided that we do not wish to have any ties to her."

Lucina's flabbergasted. "Do you feel that way towards her, Laurent?"

"I..." His expression falters slightly. "I am impartial to Severa as a person, but as the president of the Biology Club, the responsibility falls to me to take actions that reflect the feelings of the club as a whole. I am sorry, Lucina, but this is what was requested. However, should the situation change between you two, please feel free to rejoin our club." He goes to open the door for her.

Lucina thinks about telling him that she wasn't technically in the club in the first place. Instead, she thanks Laurent for telling her about the membership and leaves the classroom. On her way down to the cafeteria, she is told by at least six other clubs that she's no longer a member of them, despite not remembering having joined any of them. How many concussions was she recovering from last year?

She meets up with Cynthia and Kjelle in the lunchroom, feeling quite puzzled. "I've just had the oddest experience."

Kjelle looks up from her meal. "People kicking you out of their clubs, because you've been hanging out with Severa?" She pauses and looks over Lucina. She whistles. "Well, damn. Who are you trying to get laid by?"

"Anyway! Weird experiences!" Cynthia chimes in, "We've been asked all day about what you're doing with her. Apparently, training her to join the soccer team is not a juicy enough answer, so they're saying that you're planning some kind of huge drag race with her and she's pulling you into it."

That's...interesting. "What else are people saying?"

Cynthia replies, "Uh...that she's the head of a secret crime gang, and you're her number two. She's cast a spell on you with Noire's help. Oh, and she's totally seducing you into doing her will." She drops her voice, so that only Lucina can hear her. "Which isn't totally untrue."

Lucina swears that Cynthia's going to be the death of her. "All ridiculous rumours."

"Which is what I said too." Kjelle sits up. She's keeping her gaze steady between her two teammates and the odd interaction they just had. "But they're going to keep building until you give them an answer. So, what's going on with the gossip magnet and you?"

Lucina's stomach drops to her feet, because she doesn't quite know. "She's a prospective teammate."

Kjelle raises an eyebrow. "And that's why people have been seeing you two outside of school?"

"She's just an old friend that I started talking to again. Sometimes, it's feels like we never drifted apart."

Kjelle frowns. "You say that, but do you really know her anymore?"

Cynthia glances between the two before clasping an arm around Kjelle's shoulders. She begins steering her towards a lone figure sitting against the far side of the cafeteria. "Hey, have you met Gerome yet? He's the new guy that transferred a few days ago. Super dreamy."

Kjelle protests, "But I wasn't finished—"

"Hottie alert. C'mon, Kjelle." She casts a glance over at Lucina who mouths a "thank you." Cynthia gives up a thumbs in return. "You gotta be my wing-woman on this."

Lucina feels sick and no longer hungry. She escapes the cafeteria and her sudden awareness of the eyes on her as she leaves. Unable to think of where else to go, she makes her way to the library located on the other side of the school. It's a little busier in there due to the lunch hour, but there's hardly clumps of students milling about its corridors or its two levels. Whoever designed the school clearly loved books if the fact that the library has its own building is any indication.

The librarian waves at her, munching on a snack as always. "Good to see you, Lucina. We got some new books donated in the history section if you want to see them."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Greenheart. I'll check them out." She makes her way over to that section and nearby bumps into a girl on her cell phone. She's about to apologize when she hears Severa's name being whispered by her and unconsciously leans in to listen.

"Yeah, she's all the talk of the school again. No, I haven't met her, but she doesn't look friendly. She's supposed to be bad luck, and she's got, like, two moms or something. Hmmm...she found the nephew of the sheriff in the river. I heard that his throat was cut out, and she's part of this gang going around kidnapping children—"

Lucina can't stand to hear anymore. "That's enough."

A girl hardly older than Morgan squeaks when she hears Lucina's voice. She nearly drops her phone. "Were you listening in?" She pales when she gets a good look at Lucina's face. "Oh."

"It's rude of me to eavesdrop, but the library is not a place to talk badly of someone else." Or any place. "Who were you talking to?"

"My cousin in Valm." She tries to jut her chin up in defiance, but her knees are shaking. "It's a free country. I can say anything I want." Her voice warbles.

"Gossip and slander are not things to be proud of spreading." Lucina peers at the girl and realizes that she doesn't recognize her. "Why all the interest in Severa Faulkner though?"

The girl twists a strand of mousy brown hair around her finger. "Well, she's bad luck, isn't she? She found your cousin by the river. Rumours say that she curses everyone who talks to her."

Lucina feels as if she's been punched in the stomach. "I see. Thank you. For the record, none of those things are true." She steps aside, and the girl shoots past her, racing towards the exit. When she hears the retreating footsteps, Lucina sighs and sags against a shelf, her forehead resting on a worn copy of "The History of Akaneia."

Of course, Owain is going to come up when people are talking about Severa, and Lucina would be foolish and naive to be believe that they wouldn't. She doesn't want to keep hearing about him from people who were never there, continue being prodded by the relentless stream of questions about if certain details were true. Worse still, a lot of the things people were asking about were true like the gash found across Owain's throat or the bruises on his arms. The questions that haunts her are the ones she doesn't have answers to, like how—for all of the exemplary officers on the case—the investigation never found how he got abducted that morning. And why her father wasn't on the case.

How the hell could they not find anything? Just...

"Are you all right?" Mr. Greenheart's concerned face comes into view, his hand on her shoulder. "I called you several times, and you didn't respond."

"I'm fine." Lucina closes her eyes. There's a headache forming behind them. "What did you call me for?"

"The warning bell's rung, and you've got less than ten minutes to get to your next class."

She lets out a long breath. "Thank you for letting me know." She bids goodbye to him and leaves the library, cutting through the grass to reach the door closest to Miss Faulkner's classroom. She makes it with a minute to spare.

Cynthia waves her down. There's a pout on her face, and Lucina takes it that her attempt to pick up Gerome did not go as planned. Lucina makes her way to her spot before noticing that said boy on her left is staring at her with something like concern.

She sits down, gesturing to a sulking Cynthia that she'll respond her later before turning to ask him, "Is something the matter?"

His brows furrow, and the line of his mouth flattens out. "You look troubled. Has something happened?"

Lucina blinks in surprise before shaking her head. "Not at all. Thank you for asking. How have you found our town so far?"

"Uneventful." Gerome frowns. "There's something you're not saying." He shifts, looking worried before sighing. The collar of his shirt is slightly open, and Lucina can see the hollow of his throat and the start of the indentation of his collarbone. "But I see that it's not something you want to share right now. Should you need a willing ear in the future, I would be open to lending it." He looks away, seeming uncomfortable and having exhausted his supply of words for the day.

Lucina's touched, but before she can respond, her elbow is jostled by Cynthia on her other side who passes her a note in a huff. On a torn sheet of paper in a messy blue scrawl are the words, "You're not allowed to date both Severa and Gerome." Lucina quickly fires off a reply that she's not and shuffles the paper onto Cynthia's desk before Miss Faulkner enters the room, her movements a little slower and more languid than normal. She sets them on their quiz about the different metres in The Radiant Hero, but there's something tense about the line of her jaw, the narrowing of her eyes. If Lucina wasn't already familiar with that look in Severa, she could miss it altogether. There's something that Miss Faulkner is worried and angry about that she's trying to hide. Lucina wonders if it's a good idea to ask Severa about what's bothering her mother. When they finish their quiz, they continue reading the rest of Priam's poem, and when Miss Faulkner's back is turned to the class, Cynthia slips Lucina notes, detailing all of the reasons about why Kjelle is a terrible wing-woman.

At last, the bell rings, signalling the end of class, and Cynthia wrings a promise from Lucina to chat later before they part for their respective classes. Gerome, however, waits for her by the entrance of the room and offers to walk her to wherever she's heading next. Lucina's surprised but she accepts his offer. She says, "I hope that everyone has been welcoming to you so far."

"Some are far too welcoming," he grunts, walking around a cluster of girls who are gawking at him. He sticks close to her when several of them reach out to touch his shirt. "It's as if they have no concept of personal space."

"It's not often we get a transfer student, so it's not that surprising that they're interested in you." Aside from other reasons, which Cynthia is too happy to share with her. "What made your family want to move here?"

He shifts his books from one hand to another. "My mother found a job here, so we all moved. I supposed it's not a bad town for some quiet." He goes silent for so long that they reach Lucina's biology class.

She turns to him. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you're starting to get settled here. I suppose that someone from a more urban area might find Ylissetol boring, but I like it here. It feels very safe."

She's about to thank him for walking her here when Gerome stops her, his eyes dark. He says, "Given what I've heard about here, I would say that's not true."

Lucina feels her breath stolen from her. A surge of heat rises through her chest, and it takes her a moment to recognize that she's angry. She focuses on taking a breath before responding. "What do you mean by that?"

Gerome peers at her. There's a surprising sadness in his eyes. "Do you really think that any town can stay safe forever?" Before she can respond, he leans in, close enough that his breath brushes her ear. "If you ever feel that you require a friend you can trust, please come talk to me, Lucina." He looks like he wants to say more but stops himself and walks away, glancing back at her with an unreadable expression.

Lucina's torn between going after him and demanding him to elaborate, and heading into class. She tussles with the decision before she shakes her head and slips into her classroom, adding the need to question Gerome to her mental pile that has been growing this odd day.

Severa doesn't talk to her during class, which doesn't surprise her. She can't but feel a little lonely that the person she wants to talk to has turned into a wall. On her other side is Inigo, who seems to have caught onto her mood, frowning at her expressions and trying to get her to smile to point where he physically attempted do so. It ends up with both of them getting ejected from the class for "disruptive behaviour", awkwardly standing outside the doors with Inigo giving her an apologetic smile while Lucina glares at him. The chatter of the students on the other side of the wall does not help, and Lucina finds herself grinding her teeth together at the unfairness of it all.

Ten minutes later, Mrs. Clearwater comes out to address them both. With one hand on the side of her glasses, she glances at Lucina and Inigo. "I am surprised at this sudden and unexpected behaviour, and while Mr. Montoya has shown a history of, shall we say, being over-enthusiasm in the classroom, you do not, Miss Flynn. I hope there will not be a repeat performance in the future, otherwise an immediate separation shall be necessary."

Lucina glances at her feet. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Clearwater. I don't know why I lost my temper."

Something softens around the teacher's eyes, and she nods in acknowledgement. She gestures for Inigo to return to the classroom before turning her attention back to Lucina, She continues in a softer tone. "It has reached staff attention that rumours regarding your deceased cousin have started up again in these hallways, and I understand that it can cause great distress and a loss in concentration in your studies. Therefore, I will propose to the other staff members that we take a no tolerance stance to the circulation of frivolous conjecture immediately once this class has ended."

Lucina takes a moment to digest what she said. "So, you'll be putting a stop to the gossip?"

"Absolutely. Hypotheses without a basis in fact is mere speculation." The frowning woman pushes up her glasses. "Not only that, but it appears that you are not the only student involved. Miss Faulkner has been a frequent target for misguided and fallacious inferences, and staff members have often attempted to eradicate these rumours in the past. Clearly, we have not succeeded with the way they have been resurfacing." She closes her eyes and looks like she has a headache. "It is a failing on us as teachers if we cannot protect our students from each other." Her eyes open again, and Lucina's startled to see something flaring in her gaze, different from her usual cold study. "I do not know the state of your relationship with Miss Faulkner, but I would urge you to continue it. It seems to be proving beneficial to her."

"It is to me, too," Lucina replies quietly, feeling something warm flood her belly at the thought.

Mrs. Clearwater considers her for so long that Lucina starts to feel like a butterfly caught under glass when the science teacher nods in approval. "Do be persistent. Miss Faulkner has a history of being dogged in her opinions, but she is not one for denying truths as they are." She opens the door for both of them to return. Just as Lucina passes the threshold, she whispers to her, "The winning of affection can be arduous, but much can be gained from it. I wish you luck, Miss Flynn." She gives her a small smile before turning to the class to get their attention.

It takes Lucina a few moments to remember that her legs work before she walks to her seat in a daze. She's not sure what happened, but she thinks she just got dating advice from Laurent's mother.

Severa glances up at her when Lucina sits down before the irritated girl huffs softly, looking out the window for the rest of the class. She's frowning at something intangible in the distance and tapping her fingers along her desk, and as much as it pains Lucina, she thinks that the silent girl just wants some space. Inigo has been oddly silent since their brief expulsion, and Lucina almost misses his chatter. She draws her attention to her assignment, and it's almost with relief that she breaks away from the world, even for a little bit.

After classes, she meets Severa to work on dribbling and passing to ensure that they've gotten the basics down firmly. Soccer practice is silent for the most part.

It's Severa who breaks the atmosphere with a sigh after catching a pass. "Okay, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Usually by this point, you're trying to get me to hang out with you or talk my head off, but you've been quiet and broody all afternoon. You didn't even notice me looking at you all biology class, and you're usually all over stuff like that." Severa shifts, her eyes on the ground. "If this is about what I said earlier, that wasn't really about you."

Really? "Then, what was it about?"

Severa crosses her arms and scowls. Her cheeks match her hair. "I just...I just don't like sharing you with anyone else when it can be just us."

Lucina is stunned. "That's the most forthright I've heard you been all week."

"Hey! I'm trying here! And Noire might have helped a little with that." Severa looks around the field and notices a copse of trees not too far off. She gestures for Lucina to follow her, and they sit down with their knees almost touching in the shade of a particularly large tree. "So, what's bothering you? Besides me."

Lucina chews her lip. She can't help but notice the clusters of students standing outside the school, watching them. "Have you noticed that people are looking at us more?"

Severa snorts. "You noticed that now? They've been doing that since the day you started talking to me in biology class."

Oh. "I supposed I didn't see it for a while."

Severa looks away. "This is what I meant when I said people will gossip about you if you hang around me." She swallows something that looks particularly painful for her. "If you wanna stop, I get it—"

"No!" Lucina pauses, adding more softly. "I mean, I don't. I just...I keep hearing them mention Owain...and it hurts."

A wall comes up in Severa's eyes when Owain's name is mentioned, and that hurts even more. 'Is that the reason behind all the sudden interest in me?"

"It wasn't sudden," Lucina mutters. "And no, I'm not trying to dig into you for answers. You already told the police everything, right?" she asks, and Severa nods stiffly. "Then, it doesn't matter." Lucina stands up. "It's a small thing to complain about. We should finish your practice."

Severa looks like she wants to argue, but Lucina's already walking away. They go through the basics once again with Severa not even bothering to complain. By the end of the practice when Lucina is commenting on her progress and what to improve upon before walking away, it's the redhead who stops her with a light grip on her wrist.

"Okay, this is clearly bothering you more than you let on." Severa grimaces. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Lucina sighs. "Severa, it's fine. I just need to go home to review some material for our chemistry quiz."

"And I thought I was the stubborn one." Severa drops her hand, and Lucina is already missing the touch. "One, our quiz is next week. Two, it's Friday. Three, look, let's just...go. Let's get away from here and talk. Regna Ferox again? I've got a purchase I need to return, because they messed up the sales pricing."

"It's always shopping with you," Lucina says quietly, but she smiles. "All right. I accept."

They change quickly and hop into Severa's car with the redhead sharing more than few choice words with some of the students who have been staring at them. Lucina makes an half-hearted attempt to stop her before slipping into the car and waiting. Severa circles around after a few minutes and jumps in, nearly slamming the door on her side. "Idiots, all of them."

She starts the engine, backing out of the parking lot and heading onto the main road out of town. Lucina is quiet enough during the ride that Severa squirms slightly. She begins to grimace and taps her fingers on the steering wheel for a few minutes before blurting out, "Okay, fine! Tell me what they've been saying about Owain."

"They've been talking about him and you..."

"Of course, they have. I've been hearing the same rumours my entire life."

"It's a little different now. I'm included now."

"Oh, boo hoo! A few whispered words about the perfect princess. What a shame." Lucina's taken back by her tone, and Severa seems to notice. She deflates. "Sorry, I'm not good at this comforting thing. Yeah, I know how that feels. What are they saying about us?"

"That you've been seducing me to do your bidding."

Severa pauses. She glances at her. "Well? Am I succeeding?"

Lucina laughs out of surprise. For a few seconds, a sweet smile comes onto Severa's face before it's replaced with her familiar smirk.

"I'll take that as a yes, then."

"As someone else once said, I'm not so easy." Lucina gazes at her. "I look forward to see what you try in the future to convince me otherwise."

Severa's throat moves. She doesn't seem to have a response to that. "Uh...so, what else have they've been saying about Owain and I?"

"That you're part of a gang that kidnaps children to sacrifice them."

"Wow, okay. That's a little dark." Severa runs a hand through her bangs. "Geez, they really have a low opinion of me, don't they," she scoffs, but there's an undertone of hurt in her voice.

"They don't know you."

"Of course not. They look at me, and all they expect is my mother." Severa stares straight ahead through the windshield. Her jaw is clenched. "People see my mom, and they fall in love with her. Then, they meet me and think I've clearly been adopted, because I've inherited none of her talents. One kid even called me a defective version of my mom."

Lucina thinks about what Laurent mentioned earlier. "Was that the boy you got into a fight with last year?"

"Yeah. I thought I was going to be expelled." She goes quiet. "Your mom was pretty cool about it. Even listened to my side of the story and everything. Still was suspended for a week though."

"Why did you fight him?"

"That smug idiot not only insulted me, but he insulted my mother. He said that there was something wrong with her for having me."

So, Severa beat up a student for dishonouring her mother. There is something old-fashioned and cute about that. And kind of scary. "That was foolish of him."

"Yeah, that's how he ended up with a broken nose. Haven't seen the jerk since."

Lucina neglects to tell her that the boy subsequently transferred and moved in the week that Severa was gone. "He's wrong though. You're not any version of your mom. You're just you."

One corner of Severa's mouth curves up. "Yeah, and you like me, right?"

A lot, actually, but Lucina isn't going to boost Severa's ego any further. "There's many things to like about you."

Her comment completely backfires. Severa has a smug grin on for the rest of the ride to Regna Ferox.

They make it to the mall and return the item without incident, though Severa did attempt to hassle the clerk into giving her a bigger discount on account of the grief she suffered over her wrongly priced item. She succeeds, and the pair leaves the store with a smirking Severa holding onto a lavender shopping bag.

Lucina smiles at the girl besides her before her mind begins to wander off, puzzling over the strangeness of the day and the painful grip she feels in her chest whenever she thinks about Owain. She must have dazed out for a while, because she feels Severa grabbing her hand and leading her away from the mall to Lucina's surprise.

"What are you doing?" Lucina asks, curiously, as they walk past the end of the mall and into a district made of grey stones with faded banners stretching high above them. The smells of roasting meats and spices hit Lucina's nose, and she feels herself starting to salivate while Severa leads her further into narrow streets with cobblestones made of red and black stones beneath their feet. The entire street looks aged as if they stepped back in time about fifty years, and Lucina's fascinated by the bright splashes of colours across the shops and houses that contrast the stoic look of the stone architecture.

"Where are we?" Lucina asks the girl beside her as she leads them to a pavilion filled with carts showing off freshly made food and emblazoned with colourful signs.

"Old Town. It's a part of Regna Ferox that's untouched by all of the recent building." Severa sniffs, letting go of her hand. "You like spending time with me, right? I'd thought we could go for a walk and stuff." She reaches up and brushes some of Lucina's hair out of her eyes. "Get you out of your head for a while."

Lucina's heart catches at the gesture, feeling Severa's fingers threading through her hair. "I'd like that." She feels her stomach growl and her face reddening consequently. "But do you want to get something to eat first?"

They grab a crepe to share, quickly devouring it within five minutes before going back and buying two more. The shopping district is full of older shops with vintage style clothing involving puffed shoulders and leopard-spotted tights. Lucina thinks that the clothing's quite interesting but finds herself being yanked past the stores by Severa who wears an expression of horror. It's only when they stumble onto a stone path that runs besides a river wide enough to make swimming across it impossible that they stop. The river in itself is charming with the water rushing in splashes of white bursts and a furious roar as it breaks over the rocks jutting out from its bottom. Severa takes the edge of the path that's farthest away from it, and Lucina falls in line beside her.

Lucina peers at the redhead pulling her jacket closer around her. "How do you know so much about this area?"

"My mother used to take me here to check out the shops. My dad travelled a lot to talk to the deacons of different towns, and my mother and I figured out how to kill time together when we came with him." A frown crosses her face. "We used to, anyway."

Lucina is silent. "Sounds like this place meant a lot to you. I'm happy that you decided to share it with me."

At that, Severa crosses her arms. "Yeah, well. You looked like you needed to take your mind off of something."

"This helped." Lucina could hear her heartbeat in her ears, in her throat. She gathers her faltering courage and reaches across the gap that separates her and Severa, gently gathering the surprised girl's hand in hers. She waits to see what will happen, and when Severa doesn't pull away, she lets out a sigh of relief, and turns to face her.

Severa's ears are as red as her hair. "I'm just doing this, because you might get lost."

"Well, I'm lucky that I have you here to find me."

Severa rolls her eyes but doesn't let go.

They walk along the stone path curving around the edge of the town in silence as Lucina stares out over the churning waters. She can't help but wonder where Owain's body would have been found if he had been dumped into this river instead of the one at home. Would he have been torn apart by the rapids or would he have sunk to places that no one would ever have thought to search? Would it have been better if his body had never been found to give them all that sliver of hope that he might be alive somewhere, or was the grief that closure brought more forgiving? Was there something Lucina could have done to stop his death? Was there something she did to cause it?

Her thoughts preoccupy her, and she doesn't notice that they've stopped walking until she feels Severa's hand slip from hers. Startled, she looks up and notices the redhead scowling at her with her hands on her hips, looking about one tic away from exploding. Wisely, Lucina chooses to let her speak first.

"You need to stop obsessing about what's in your head." Severa jabs at her chest. "Like, I've taken you around half of the damn town, and that stupid sad look is still on your face."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize it bothered you so much. I won't have it on anymore."

Bad answer. Severa explodes, "Are you listening to me? I don't care if you're sad! You're human! It's normal to be unhappy from time to time. What bothers me is that..." She hesitates before glancing to the side. "It hurts me to see you sad. That I can't do anything about it."

Lucina stares at her.

Oh.

"You are doing something about it. You're here with me."

"Gods, that was corny." Wincing, Severa runs her hands through her bangs. "I'm serious, Lucina. Today, it feels like you're so far gone in your own head that I can't reach you. And I feel like I can't." She drops her eyes, her voice quiet. "Maybe this was just a mistake."

Something inside Lucina freezes. "What was?"

Severa doesn't seem to hear her as she makes to leave until Lucina grabs her arm. "We're not a mistake."

Severa flushes. "I didn't say that!"

"We're not a mistake," Lucina repeats, pulling her closer. "I... I was just thinking about the rumours that I've been hearing, like I mentioned before. About you. About Owain."

There's a sharp hiss from the redhead who closes her eyes. When she opens there, the look in them make Lucina's heart drop to her feet. "You're always going to be reminded of him when you're with me, aren't you?" Her voice is quiet as she pulls Lucina's hand off of her. "I've already told the police everything. I have no more answers to give you that I didn't give them."

"I know that. I just—I wonder if..."

Severa looks away, but there's something about the way she wraps her arms around herself that reminds Lucina of crystal under pressure, fragile and breaking. "Do you think there's something I'm hiding from them? From you?"

"Of course not! I just want—"

"Him back?" Severa tries to scoff, but the hurt in her voice gives her away. "Did you ever want me? Or was I always a mean to find answers?"

"I've always wanted you," Lucina says, quietly. That gets Severa's attention, and she finally looks her way. "Please, don't ever think that my feelings are less than sincere." She takes a breath and runs her hand through her hair in an attempt to soothe herself. It doesn't work. "I just want to know. I just want to find out what happened to him and who took him. How'd they managed to take him that morning. Whether we could have stopped them." She swallows, a burr in her throat. "Whether it was my fault, because I could have done something."

Severa turns so sharply towards her that Lucina nearly jumps back. "You'd be an idiot to think it was your fault." She reaches up to Lucina's cheeks, fingers tracing a path under her eyes, and the taller girl is surprised to feel wetness on her face. "You are crazy smart and responsible. You're always looking out for other people," Severa's throat moves, "even when they don't deserve it, and you're always giving everything that you have for the people you consider friends.

"Whatever happened to Owain, it's not your fault. It's—" Severa cuts herself off and looks away. It takes her a few seconds to meet Lucina's gaze again. "You didn't kidnap him. You didn't kill him. You had nothing to do with it. So, stop dragging around this guilt for something you didn't do." Her thumb grazes the curve of Lucina's cheek. "Do you understand me?"

Lucina sighs, closing her eyes and feeling the warmth of Severa's fingers on her face. "Yes."

"Okay, good. You were seriously starting to depress me."

Lucina smiles and places a hand over Severa's, pressing down on it so that her palm cradles Lucina's face. "I'll stop making you sad, your Highness."

"Your Majesty is acceptable too," Severa grumbles. She drops her eyes. "And I know I haven't been the most supportive person today."

"It's fine," Lucina sighs, savouring the sensation of Severa's hand on her face. She opens her eyes as a thought hits her. "Er...was that our first fight?"

"Please. We had our first fight when you asked me out." Severa rolls her eyes. "Knowing us, we'll probably yell at each other on the way home."

Lucina thinks they'd probably have to work on the shouting as a form of communication. "Well, let's head home and tempt fate. I've kind of had enough of the scenery."

Severa glances at the waters besides them and winces. "Okay, maybe the river wasn't the best idea."

They make the way to the end of the path, which breaks out into the paved streets and concrete buildings they passed by to get to the mall. Snow starts to fall in light flakes, which baffle the two since it's not remotely close to winter. Severa takes down her twin tails due to the cold while Lucina is suddenly very glad that her new black jacket has a fur lining.

They wander along the concrete buildings and steel fences until Lucina admits she's lost, and Severa spots the glass dome of the crystal mall just a few blocks away. Her fingers slip back into Lucina's hand, pulling her in the direction of the dome as Lucina gets distracted by the people they're sharing the sidewalk with. They pass by men and women in dark uniforms and caps patrolling the streets, passing by the two with cursory glances. The rifles on their backs are troubling. So is the sheer amount of soldiers who are marching up and down the streets as if preparing to quarantine the town.

Severa steps closer to her, squeezing her hand. "So, is it just me, or is all of this unbelievably creepy?"

Lucina frowns. "There weren't so many of them here yesterday. We should ask them what's going on."

"No, we shouldn't. I've seen movies. Things never go well when you get involved."

"Severa, it can't hurt." Lucina stops a boy who barely looks older than her. "Excuse me, do you know why are there so many soldiers here?"

The boy shrugs and scratches at a patch of dark stubble. "The officers just told us to shut up and show up. Can't tell you if there's another war coming on or if they think there's trouble about to go down."

"I see. Thank you for your time." Lucina pulls Severa a little closer as the boy breezes past. "We may need to talk to an officer to get more information."

"Yeah, or we can watch it on the news like normal people."

"Severa, whatever's going to happen may involve our home, our families. We need to know in order to be prepared."

The redhead grimaces. "Fine. One officer. Then, we'll go."

It's easier said than done when Lucina realizes that she doesn't know how to identify one, and Severa has to take the lead, which surprises the taller girl.

"How do you know what to look for?" Lucina asks as Severa points to a woman with light blue hair in a uniform with yellow markings on her arms lingering around the outside of a bar.

"Look for the insignias on the arms and shoulders. That one's a sergeant because they've got three chevrons on their jacket."

"Er...chevrons?"

"Yeah, the yellow pointy hat thing. Look, you got your officer. Just go and ask them your questions, and then let's get out of here."

"But how do you know so much about that?"

Severa sighs. "My mother used to point out the ranks of soldiers we spotted." Which raises the question of how the elder Faulkner knows them. "Less questions of me, more questions of them." She gives Lucina an impatient shove in the direction of the officer.

It turns out that she didn't need to, as the woman in uniform notices them and stares with a dumbfounded expression. It lasts only a few seconds before anger twists her features, and she begins storming towards them.

"Oh, crap." Severa grabs her arm, and they're turning to flee when the woman lets out a bellow behind them.

"Cordelia Faulkner!"

"What?" Severa shares a startled look with Lucina. "How does she know my mother? Also, isn't she aware that my mom is half a foot taller than me? There's no way I could pass as her."

The reason for the officer's mistake becomes obvious when she nears. The smell of alcohol from her clothing makes the woman reek enough that Lucina suppresses an urge to retch, and the soldier, herself, barely manages to stop without toppling over. She jabs a finger in Severa's face. "You fucking coward. You ran off and left us all to die."

"Excuse me? I think you've gotten me confused for someone else." Severa looks like she could have bitten that finger off if Lucina didn't have a hand on the redhead's arm to calm her. "And my name is Severa."

The drunken woman looks confused before rage retakes her expression. "You've got to be related to her. You can't look so much like her without some kind of relationship."

"That's really none of your damn b—"

"If Cordelia were here, we could have stopped the child hunts from restarting," the woman slurs. "We could have stopped them before they started abducting kids from here, from Ylissetol and Valm."

"Child hunts?" Lucina feels her blood leave her face. "Who are you trying to stop?"

The soldier ignores her. "She should be here. We should be stopping them before they take them instead of being on clean-up duty after the fact. And now we're here again, because she didn't do her fucking job good enough the first time!"

"Take it up with my mother then! I have no part in it!" Severa snarls. "I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Maybe if she showed her fucking face, I would. Some hero she turned out to be. Best sniper in the unit, first lieutenant, and she left us to run off with some pretty priest." The officer pauses, digesting Severa's words. "Your mother..." She peers closely at the younger girl's face. "So, the priest was a man after all!"

"Screw you! What would you know about my parents?" Severa bares her teeth. "Clearly, nothing's going right in your life if you're drunker than a sk—"

The officer swings at Severa. She's fast enough that the redhead barely ducks the first blow and sidestep the second, leaving the soldier to stumble forward, swearing. Lucina moves to restrain the officer, but Severa pushes her back. She slips into the street to get the woman's attention.

"Hey, dumbass! Assault charges, much?"

The officer roars and charges again, stumbling as they loop a sloppy roundhouse that nearly causes them to lose their balance when Severa once again steps to the side. "Stay the fuck still!" The soldier fumbles into a wall and turns to face her young opponent. A sneer crosses her scarred face. "The daughter of a deserting whore. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tr—"

Severa punches her in the mouth. Lucina didn't even have time to blink.

The soldier stumbles backward and claps a hand over her jaw, shock on her face. Severa stands shorter than either her or Lucina, but the expression on her face would leave any attacker reconsidering their plan. "You say one more word about my mother, and I'll beat all of your ugly teeth out of your head."

Lucina places herself between them. "Stop—"

The soldier spits out blood. There's fury on her face. "Your mother ran from the Grimleal, and I bet you will too. Cowar—"

Severa darts past Lucina and hits the soldier right below her ear with a roundhouse punch, and the woman drops as if suddenly falling asleep on her feet. Severa's face has gone unusually pale.

Lucina stares at the unconscious woman before Severa grabs her by the forearm and drags her out of the area, as people were starting to come around the corner to investigate the sounds. A few blocks from the scene, she drops her touch as if it burns and stalks off towards her car. Lucina opens her mouth to ask a question before catching a glimpse of Severa's expression. She decides to quickly get into the vehicle while her friend drives off so quickly from the scene that Lucina swears she has whiplash from the sharp turns down the mountain road.

The redhead is furious if the set of her eyes and the tension in her jaw is any sign. She also looks pale enough to be sick, and nothing has been spoken between them since they left the officer. The silence is so stifling, Lucina could choke on it. She knows she needs to break it.

Lucina swallows, nervously. She decides to lead with a less volatile question. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Severa's hands tighten on her steering wheel. They go white. The first two knuckles on her right hand are starting to swell, and it looks quite painful. "My father taught me. After we visited Valm when I was younger. He thought that I should know how to defend myself."

Which she did frightfully well. "Do you need some ice for your hand?"

Severa's expression tightens. "What I need is to know why my mother has hidden so many damn secrets from me."

"Like the child hunts." Lucina takes a breath. "Do you think that was related to Owain?"

"I don't know." Severa goes quiet, and something that looks like guilt spasms across her face. She pulls over to the side of the road where she turns off the engine. Her breaths come out ragged, and she runs her undamaged hand through her hair. A laugh comes from her throat. It doesn't sound happy. "Here I am accusing my mother of keeping secrets when I'm the same."

"Severa?"

The redhead turns to her. "Listen, it's not your fault that Owain got kidnapped, because...it's mine." Severa drops her eyes. "I was the last one to see him alive."