Marksburg – Elym Hotel

Rhea sat tiredly at the bar and ordered a drink. While waiting, she turned on the camera that was fastened around her neck. While scanning through the gallery, she thought about her journey. It's hard for her to believe that three weeks passed by. It was the perfect therapy for her. She felt at complete ease. Of course, that could be just because of how tired she was. She managed to survive the trip, but was not prepared for it. Alvin called her everyday without fail. He gave her the motivation to continue and not simply give up. After the first week, she couldn't sleep until chatting with him. A small smile appeared on her lips and she continued looking through the pictures. The final picture taken however, killed the smile. Before entering the hotel, she was exploring Marksburg a bit. She had seen a crowd gathered that struck her interest. Her goal on the trip was to take a picture of anything that caught her eye and so she took the shot. She couldn't help but notice a pair of eyes staring right back at her. It gave her the chills because she was at a distance, no one from that group should have seen her.

"Who are you?" a deep voice asked.

She looked next to her seeing a figure that very easily towered over her, sitting right next to her. Another chill ran down her spine as she realized he was the one that was looking back in the picture. There was a powerful presence around him that simply intimidated her.

"R-Rhea," she answered with a stutter.

"Are you a spy?"

He eyes widened immediately. She put her hands up in the air and shook her head quickly answering, "no!"

"Then what were you doing?"

"I was just taking a picture, see?" she explained, showing him the picture. "Your group simply caught my attention so I took a picture of it."

After looking at the screen he looked right into her eyes. She was completely frozen. After a moment, he nodded and she sighed in relief. Facing the bar again, she picked up the drink that was placed in front of her. She drank the whole drink in one gulp, just wanting to settle her nerves now. She assumed that he was going to leave after getting his answer, but he continued sitting there. Not only that, but he ordered a drink himself. Not wanting to seem suspicions by suddenly getting up, she just ordered another drink. While sitting there silently, she studied him out of the corners of her eyes. The main features that stood out were his long hair and even longer trench coat.

"If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" she asked quietly.

After a moment of silence, he answered calmly, "Erston." She nodded in understanding. She wanted to ask more but was too nervous of angering him. Very easily sensing her fear he told her, "you can relax."

"Was I that obvious?"

"Do you need to ask?"

She grinned and scratched the back of her head, feeling embarrassed. He couldn't help but smirk at her reaction. The bartender came by and placed their drinks down. Feeling much more at ease now, she was able to take her time on her drink. He, on the other hand, chugged his drink. He was ready to leave after finishing until his GHS went off. He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at it annoyed. She couldn't help but watch him fiddle with the machine. It was clear to see that it wasn't the message that angered him, but the device itself.

"Do you need help?" she offered.

After watching her for a moment, he accepted the offer. Already feeling comfortable around him, she leaned in and studied his GHS for a bit. Once she figured out what was confusing him, she showed him exactly what to do in such simple terms that a child would be able to understand. He nodded and took it back from her. She smiled and sat back up straight. After finishing with it, he put the GHS back in his pocket.

Feeling bolder thanks to the alcohol in her system, she reached over and poked his bangs as she told him, "I first thought it was because you couldn't see the screen through all this hair."

Unsure of how to respond to that, he simply blinked. Simply smiling now, she took her hand back and finished her drink. Just a moment later, strong arms wrapped around her tightly. A familiar scratching sensation on her cheek let her know exactly who it was. She looked up annoyed at Alvin. He pouted and tightened his grasp on her.

"You're late," she scolded him.

He rubbed his head against hers and pouted, "I'm sorry..."

Unable to hold back her smile any longer, she patted his cheek. He grinned and kissed her cheek, feeling overjoyed causing her to blush. He chuckled and loosened his grasp enough so that he could stand up straight. That's when he finally noticed her companion. Confusion quickly filled him.

"What are you doing here Gaius?" he asked. Gaius shot him a stern look which made him quickly rephrase, "I mean, what are you doing here Erston?"

"Gaius?" Rhea questioned, looking over at him. "What, is that a nickname of yours or something?" They both looked at her surprised making her question, "what?"

Alvin laughed while Gaius answered, "you could say that, but I prefer Erston."

She nodded in understanding and then looked up at Alvin stating, "you know a lot of people."

Still smiling, he nodded, "that I do."

"Oh," she stated, remembering something. "I got what you asked for."

His eyes lit up and he asked, "yeah?"

She chuckled and bent over. She then picked up two duffel bags and handed them to him. He took them and set them back on the floor. He opened them quickly and looked at its contents. Gaius glanced down seeing a large amount of materials. Even he was impressed by the amount. After zipping the bags back up he held back onto her. He was so overjoyed that he kissed her. She froze while her face became completely flushed. Once she was mobile again, she looked at him shocked.

"What?" he questioned grinning happily. "You told me not to kiss you when depressed. I'm very happy right now so it's allowed."

Her head fell as she muttered, "your logic..."

He chuckled before asking, "so, you ready to leave now?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Then let's go."

She nodded again. Before getting up though she took her wallet out. "Don't worry about it," Gaius told her as he just paid.

"You sure?" she asked him.

"As a thanks for your help."

She smiled and said, "thank you."

He nodded, stood up, and left. The two left behind just stared at the door for a moment. After shaking off his constant presence, she stood up and picked up her backpack. He picked up the two remaining bags and they left the hotel.

Trigleph – Central Station

Alvin and Rhea got off the train, chatting happily. They were catching up with everything that happened during the three weeks apart, as if they didn't talk all the time between the times of departure and arrival. He couldn't help but comment multiple times about her appearance. Compared to when he last saw her, she looked completely healthy. She no longer looked like she was starving and sleep deprived. Not just that but she was wearing clothing that fit her properly. By having an arm around her shoulders, he could feel that she was toned up as well.

As they walked through the streets of the city, he felt something jump on his arm. He looked over seeing a little creature on it. Before he freaked out, she looked over and picked it up. Looking closer at the creature, he was very confused for he's seen nothing like it. It had the body of a cat, ears of a fox, and acts like a dog. Apparently she found it on her journey and it's stayed with her since. It had been sleeping in her backpack before popping out. It jumped out of her hands and landed on her head. From there it lied down and curled up. She explained to him that this was a common thing for it to do. He just laughed and shook his head.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

He had told her that he had a surprise for her which is why she was waiting for him to pick her up in the first place. "Soon," she simply told her.

"How soon?" she pouted. He had been dragging her clear across Trigleph. "My feet are killing me..."

"I can carry you if you want."

"I don't want."

"Then deal with soon."

"Fine fine..."

A few minutes later, they finally arrived at their destination. She looked up at him confused as they entered an apartment complex. He led her over to an elevator and took it to the fourth floor. From there, he led her to the end of the hallway. He turned to face the last door on the right and took a key out of his pocket. With it, he unlocked the door and they entered. She looked around confused at the bare apartment.

"I got this for you," he told her simply.

"Eh?!" she exclaimed, not expecting that in the least.

"Do you really want to keep staying at Helioborg?"

"Well... No."

"And Drellin's off limits. I know you don't want to go back to your old home and I don't like the idea of Kyle being around you either."

"How much does this cost?"

He shook his head and lifted up the duffel bags saying, "thanks to your collecting I'll be getting a good amount of gald. This is the least I can do."

She smiled in surrender and said, "thank you."

He nodded saying "of course."

"Then I'm going to wash up, I feel gross."

He let her go finally saying, "just don't fall asleep in there."

"Yeah yeah..." she walked into the bedroom, waving her arm at him.

The only thing in the bedroom was a bed and boy did it look inviting to her. She was completely exhausted. Even so, she knew she needed a shower. So, she entered the bathroom and took off her backpack. The creature jumped off her head just before she shut the door. She took off her clothes and stepped into the tub. She took a shower as quickly as she could. She dried off and put on a robe. Not having access to a hair dryer, she did her best to dry her hair with a towel which made it a huge mess. As soon as she left the bathroom she was surprised. In front of her was the bed with Alvin on it,patting the bed next to him.

"I know you're tired, so just come over here," he coaxed her.

She nodded in agreement and did little less than just collapse on it. He chuckled and pulled her to him just enough for her head to be on his chest. Once she was there, he held her securely.

"You still aware enough to talk for a moment?" he asked her.

"Yeah..." she answered softly.

"In a couple days there's going to be a gathering at Spirius for the new president. I'm going for work related reasons, but I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

"How formal is it?"

"Hmm... I would say pretty formal. Spirius is the biggest company in Elympios and all."

"Alright, I'll go..." she whispered, near sleep.

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. Doing that made him chuckle as he said, "your hair is a mess."

"Hmm..."

Not a moment later, she was unconscious. When he was fully sure of that, he cautiously moved her off him and got up. He was already out longer than what he promised Yurgen. He doesn't feel guilty however as he looks down at her. To help replace his warmth, he covered her with the sheet and blanket. Before leaving the room, he kissed the side of her head. She mumbled lightly and curled up making him laugh softly. He then forced himself to leave before anymore time passed by. He put the key down for her on the only table in the living room, picked up the duffel bags, and left.

Spirius Corporation – 1F – Entrance

The day for a new chapter has come for the Spirus company. The large room was filled with all the big wigs you could think of from the new president to the king of Rieze Maxia. Alvin and Yurgen almost felt like servants to them. They were the providers of the nourishment for the celebration and with the amount of people there, the food was going fast. He was so busy in fact that he couldn't pick up Rhea like he had planned. He simply asked if she could come over by herself and so now he'll be surprised if she even shows up. For now, the food consumption has slowed down for now and so the two were taking a break. They took a seat on a bench against the wall. They were just drinking water to rehydrate themselves as they watched the gathering. Alvin couldn't help but find it amusing watching Leia attempting to interview all the attendees.

While observing, Yurgen nudged him. He looked over seeing that he was pointing to the other side of him. He turned to see Rhea approaching them. He couldn't help but do a spit take. She couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. He jumped to his feet and quickly went over to her. She was wearing a dark green silk dress that went down to her ankles. There was a slit on the left side that went up to her knee. Her high heels were a similar color to the dress. She was wearing mascara and lipstick, which for her who never wears makeup made her features stand out way more than usual. He had her turn around and noticed how she did her hair. Her hair was so long that she was able to make it into a bun at the back of her head but still had hair that came down from it that nearly reached her waist. When she faced him again she couldn't help but smile. She rested her hand underneath his chin and put pressure on it so that his mouth would shut.

"Aren't you a man of many words," she teased him, trying not to laugh.

"You look great," he told her.

She smiled, but before she could say anything Leia came over to them speaking happily, "hey Rhea!"

She smiled back at her saying, "hello Leia."

"You look so amazing. Makes me jealous..." she pouted.

"Thanks."

"So," Leia began, spinning her pen in her hand out of habit. "What exactly is going on with you two? Are you dating?"

"Eh?!" both Rhea and Alvin responded the same way at the same time.

"Hey Alvin," Yurgen called to him. "We got work to do."

"Alright," he answered. Suddenly unable to look at Rhea now, he told her looking at nothing at all, "I'll see you in a bit."

"S-sure..." she responded, also looking away.

He walked away, trying to keep his cool. Leia looked back and forth between them very confused. She was just about to ask Rhea why they acted the way they did but she had also walked away. She was now in the middle of the crowd, out of reach. Rhea was trying to get away from her because she wasn't expecting that question in the least. Her heart was pounding like crazy. Foolishly, she was watching only her feet as she walked and ended up bumping into another.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized instantly, raising her head along with her hands.

"It's alright young miss," Rowan smiled down at her.

"Oh, hello Rowan. Thank you so much for your help before," she said as she gave him a small bow.

"Oh, there's no need for that."

"Rowan," a deep voice came from behind her.

Recognizing it instantly she looked behind her seeing Gaius. They both became confused by each others presence in the room and so they asked at the same time, "why are you here?"

Rowan laughed a bit before asking, "how do you know each other?"

"We met at a bar a couple days ago thanks to misunderstandings," she answered, looking back at Rowan.

"Misunderstanding huh?" Rowan asked back, smiling at Gaius.

"None of your concern," he responded, crossing his arms.

"As you say," he spoke back, bowing slightly with this hand over his heart.

The air changed abruptly. Rhea looked around carefully and couldn't help but take notice that Gaius and Rowan were doing the same. All of a sudden, there was an explosion that shook the room. The chatter was instantly changed to screams. Gaius grabbed Rhea's arm and pulled her behind him, not fully sure of what to expect as of yet. With his other hand, he grabbed the hilt of his sword. Smoke quickly filled the area. As soon as it was difficult to see, bullets began to rapidly fire off. Rowan used a wind spirit arte to get rid of the smoke, but because there was no where for it to go all it did was circle around. It did clear just enough for Rhea to see a gunman right next to Gaius that he didn't notice. She freed her arm from his grasp and kicked him in the gut before he could shoot. She looked up at Gaius and he nodded at her. She nodded back. Civilians were quickly escaping through the now open front door. With it open now, Rowan was able to direct the smoke outside. With room becoming more visual, the terrorists were also becoming visible. The known heroes, plus Rhea, quickly resolved the situation. But, there's always that one stubborn member. Having assumed that the situation was resolved, Gaius stood up straight. Right after, he was attacked from behind. He was barely able to avoid damage, but his sword was knocked out of his grasp. Rhea quickly picked it up and got behind the attacker. Before he could do anything else, she put the blade to his neck, making him surrender instantly. A Spirius agent quickly came over and captured him. Knowing for a fact now that the threat was gone, she relaxed. Turning it around so that she wouldn't stab him, she returned the sword to Gaius.

"You saved my life," he stated, taking it from her.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she said quickly waving her hands in the air. "I simply did what my father taught me to do."

"Thank you."

She smiled saying, "you're welcome."

"Rhea!" Leia shouted to her from across the room.

She looked over alarmed, seeing that she was sitting next to a motionless Alvin. She was using healing spirit artes on him. Rhea's eyes widened and she ran across the room. She sat down on the other side of his unconscious form. A bit of blood pooled under his his head. Her eyes began to water and she very gently ran her fingers through his hair. Leia watched her sadly as she did her best to help.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked, hating seeing him like this.

"Do you have a cloth? Need to put pressure where he hit his head to help stop the bleeding."

Without thinking twice about it, she ripped the bottom of her dress where the slit was. She then folded it up so it would be a more proper bandage. Before she could do anything with it though, she asked, "where is he bleeding from?"

"Back of the head."

She nodded and very gently propped him up. His head rested right on her chest. She couldn't give a damn about that though. She found where he was bleeding from and used her makeshift bandage to put pressure on it. She used her other arm to hold him up. Leia got closer to her to keep using her spirit artes. After a little more than a minute passed, Alvin's eyes finally opened. He groaned in pain and tried to raise his hand to the point of pain but it was held down. He looked around confused, just trying to figure out what happened.

"Alvin..?" Rhea questioned quietly. He looked up at her and she whispered, "thank goodness..."

"What happened?" he asked.

"In protecting Yurgen from getting hit, you got hit instead and hit your head on a piece of rubble," Leia explained.

"Oh..."

"How are you feeling?" Rhea asked.

"Besides my head hurting? Magnificent..."

"Foolish boy..."

"What happened to Yurgen?"

"He got out," Leia told him.

"Good."

"Worry about yourself..." Rhea whispered, still very worried about him.

After a moment he told her, "I'll be okay."

"Yeah..."

"You ruined your dress."

"That doesn't matter... I just want you to be okay..."

"Right."

Rowan knelt down saying, "allow me to assist you."

"Thank you Rowan," Leia smiled at him.

With two of them now healing, Alvin was soon enough healed. He knew it right away and pushed against Rhea. She frowned a bit but let him go. He stood up, only to nearly collapse. Both Rowan and Leia caught him. Rhea stayed down though. She didn't know why but she could just tell that he didn't want her near him right now. It hurt her but she was happy enough just knowing that he'll be okay. The two stated that they would bring him to his home and they left. She just kept sitting there now, unsure of what to do.

Gaius walked up to her and asked, "are you alright?"

"Hmm? Yeah... I'm okay," she answered.

He offered his hand to her. For a moment she just stared at it. Immediately she was reminded of when Alvin did the same when they first met and was hit with a really bad vibe. Just before he took his hand back, she took his offer. He led her over to a bench. As soon as she sat down, he sat next to her. To distract her mind, she looked up at the huge hole in the ceiling where the explosion came from. You could easily see the floor above.

"Was it Exodus?" she asked him.

He followed her gaze and answered, "I believe so."

"Why does it keep happening? Why can't we just live in peace?"

"That's why I'm working so hard, so that one day we can achieve that peace."

"Huh?" he questioned looking over at him.

"It's almost refreshing for someone to hear both names and still don't know who I am."

"Erston?"

He closed his eyes and nearly smiled until someone walked up to them saying, "it's good to see that you're alright King Gaius."

He stood up and said, "you as well Chancellor Marcia."

Rhea's eyes widened in shock and Marcia looked down at her asking, "and who might you be?"

She stood up quickly to give her a bow, "my name is Rhea Ma'am, it's an honor to meet you."

Gaius added, "she's also my savior."

She smiled saying, "you can stand up straight.'

Rhea nodded and did so. She was too intimidated to look in either of their eyes though. She couldn't quite seem to grasp that she saved the king's life. The two talked about what just happened. After a few minutes the chancellor left. Gaius looked back down at the shocked girl and found himself amused.

He had to know, "how did you not know who I am?"

She shook her head and answered, "until very recently I've lived a very sheltered life. The first time I ever explored any land was just a few weeks ago. I got back only a couple days ago which is why I had the camera. I've never step foot in Rieze Maxia. I know nothing about it." He nodded in understanding and she told him, "I should go home now. I need to rest my nerves."

"Do you live far?"

"No... I'll be fine."

"Then be careful."

"I will," she said as she turned her back to him and began to walk away.

"Rhea."

"Yeah?" she asked back, looking over her shoulder.

"You can continue calling me Erston if you wish."

She gave him a tired smile and left.