Trigleph – Central Station

Alvin just couldn't seem to stay away. He sat down on an unoccupied bench and looked at his watch. The sun had even yet to rise, but he knew he barely made it in time. Despite not talking to her, everyone else lectured him in her stead. He knew that any moment now, she was going to appear with the little possessions that she owned and board the train. He wasn't going to ask her to stay even though he wanted to. The ghosts of his past simply wouldn't allow it. Even so, he at least wanted to see her off. Apparently Gaius was already back in Rieze Maxia on urgent business so he didn't feel threatened. If it were to be that he was picking her up, Alvin might not have shown up at all. And then alas, there she was with Rowan being her escort. His eyes were locked on her immediately. As assumed, all she had with her was her backpack and camera. The animal she found was sitting on her shoulder. He felt like a total dick when he saw her eyes. Dark shadows were present under them, showing she most likely hasn't slept since they last talked. Her eyes were locked on her feet. If it wasn't for the creature, she probably wouldn't have noticed him at all. When the creature took note of the watchful boy, it jumped off her shoulder and ran straight to him. Right when it reached him, it started growling at him. He couldn't help but let out a bitter smirk. He really was the bad guy in all this and the animal knew it. Before it could do him any harm however, it was scooped up.

"Sorry..." Rhea softly told him.

He shook his head saying, "don't be. I kinda wish it was you snarling instead. We might both even feel better if you just clocked me."

Her eyes widened and she finally looked at him saying, "what? I could never!"

"Heh... Silly girl..."

"Right back at you..."

"What? You calling me a girl now?"

A small smile played on her lips as she answered, "seems so..."

He reached over and rested his fingertips on her waist as a threat saying, "are you sure?"

When such a simple touch made her heart race she didn't care what he did as long as he kept doing it and so she answered, "very."

Before he did anything else though, he made the mistake of making eye contact with her. Instantly, his heart ached and he crossed his arms so that he could restrain his hands. In feeling her own heart ache, she lowered her head enough for her hair to cover her face. For a moment, the space between the two filled with enough tension that you could cut with a knife. Rowan observed the two in surprise. He was completely unaware that the two had such a connection. He was so focused on the idea that Gaius being interested in someone, he blocked out everything else. He didn't realize that he was stealing her from another. He didn't want to believe that he was capable of doing such a thing, but there was no denying what was right before his eyes.

Wanting to at least give her something, Alvin took off his scarf and stood up. As he wrapped it around her neck, he explained softly, "it's freezing in Kanbalar, this should at least help you a little."

"Thank you..." she whispered. When he finished she reached into her pocket and pulled out the key to the apartment that she barely stayed in. Mainly just wanting to hold his hand once more, she grabbed onto it. With her other hand, she dropped the key in his and closed it so that she was holding his had with both of hers. "With how little I stayed there, you might be able to get your money back for the apartment..."

"Yeah..."

An announcement came over the speaker, bringing her back to reality. Unable to hold back, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. His eyes widened at the contact. "Please take care of yourself..." she whispered, letting go of his hand.

"I should be telling you that..."

"Don't forget your promise to me... You need to get back to Yurgen and focus on your work... I know you'll do amazing..."

"You have too much faith in me..."

"Miss Rhea, it's time," Rowan softly told her.

She nodded, agreeing, "yeah..."

Not wanting too many regrets, she turned to Alvin one last time. Unable to speak any longer with her jaw clenched, she held him tightly. She simply buried her face in his chest. His own arms wrapped around her shoulders. It was as if his emotions overtook his rationality and he couldn't control himself. He was crushing her against him.

"I'm sorry..." he barely got himself to whisper.

When the last call came over the system, they were out of time. The two slowly backed away from each other. As she turned her back to him to face Rowan, he looked up at his old companion. Rowan wrapped his arm around the female's shoulders and gave Alvin a look of assurance. With that, the two boarded the train that shortly took off.

Kanbalar – Castle Gaius – Guest Room

Rhea woke to a chill. She pulled the blanket over her head in attempt to warm up. In doing so, she realized she was no longer in Trigleph, no longer in Elympios. The scent of the blanket was something she never knew existed. Despite never being here before, the scent made her feel at ease. She couldn't figure out why when she was incredibly sad. As she tried to figure out what it was, her pet nuzzled against her to warm itself up. She smiled just a bit as she rested her hand on it. It licked her hand before curling up. While petting it, she peaked out from the blanket. Her gaze landed on a window. Her eyes widened and she sat straight up. Keeping the creature in her left arm, she got out of bed. Instantly feeling cold, she took the blanket right off the bed and wrapped it around herself the best she could with her free arm. When better situated, she walked over to the window. It was easy to tell that the sun had already set, but everything was still very visible. Thanks to the reflection of the snow, the entire city of Kanbalar was hers to gape at. That's not what took her breath away though. For one who's never seen snow before, the constant flake flow was mesmerizing. She couldn't tare her sight away from it. If she had it her way, she would have stood at the window all night. She was brought back to reality when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She was so zoned out that she couldn't help but jump. She looked up surprised, seeing Gaius staring down at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her curiously.

"Yeah..." she nodded in response. "This is my first time seeing snow, I guess I got lost in it."

"I understand. Now and again I catch myself watching it."

"It's breathtaking."

After a small pause, he took his hand off her shoulder to cross his arms as he told her, "I brought you some food if you're willing to eat."

She followed his gaze to the table behind them seeing a plateful of food. Unsure of whether or not she'll be able to keep it down, she still appreciated the gesture so she responded, "thanks."

"Also, if you want to switch the blanket for warmer clothing, there's some in the closet." When she nodded he added, "I'll be busy most of the time but you can go anywhere you want."

"Erston," she spoke up before he added to the list. When he looked down at her, she looked up at him with a tired smile saying, "I'll be okay."

He smiled the tiniest bit at her smile and said, "of course."

"I think I will eat."

She walked over to the table and took a seat. He sat across from her with a tired sigh. She looked at him curiously but he simply shook his head. She looked down at the food and for a moment just stared at it. She really didn't have an appetite, but she didn't want to be rude to him either. With her own deep sigh, she picked up an utensil and began to eat. Despite not really wanting to eat, the sheer flavor of the food enticed her to keep going. She was so absorbed in the meal that she didn't care about her pet jumping on the table. It sniffed the food but wasn't really interested. It then made its way over to Gaius. Curiously, he handed his hand over to it. The animal sniffed it. Instantly, its tail began wagging furiously. Unable to hold itself back, it jumped right onto him and began to rub its head against his. He smiled and began petting it. She couldn't help but to smile at such a sight. It wasn't too long after that, however, that it disappeared as she thought about the one who the creature growled at.

In noticing her internal conflict, he told her, "Rowan told me everything. I won't force anything on you so don't feel like you have to force yourself."

She nodded and whispered, "okay..."

"Why don't you get some more rest? It'll be light again in a few hours."

"I guess..."

He nodded and stood up. He returned the creature to her and left the room afterwards. The instant he was gone, her throat tightened. No longer wanting to eat, she stood up and made her way back over to the bed. By the time she was lying down, she felt her eyes welling up. In just wanting a little reminder, she moved the scarf that was still around her neck and covered her nose. After inhaling the smell of his cologne, her emotions calmed down. It wasn't long until she was once again unconscious.

She woke up to the clanging of plates. She sat up and looked over seeing a woman placing fresh food on the table. After doing so, she left as quietly as she came in. Rhea rubbed her face and crawled out of bed, this time leaving the blanket behind. Instantly her skin was covered in goosebumps. She quickly made her way over to the closet and pulled out appropriate clothing. She brought them over to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Before anything, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a complete mess, it was sticking at in each and ever angle. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks tear stained. With a sigh, she adverted her eyes. Wanting to at least fix her hair, she took a shower. Once she was done, she put on the clothes she found. It amazed her how quickly she warmed up, despite how thin the materials were. They kind of reminded her of Gaius' outfit, but more of a feminine version. She was wearing black pants, a white blouse, and a jacket that reached just below her butt. The dark jacket had a similar purple pattern as his. She didn't really think much of it since it was keeping her warm. The only real difference between their outfits, was the missing vest and tie. She didn't even need the scarf, but she didn't dare not take it with her. Instead of having a tie, the wore the scarf similar to how Alvin wears it. Once she fixed her hair, she left the bathroom. No longer wanting to stay in the room, she walked over to the door. An image in the back of her mind stopped her from doing so. She looked back at the food and sighed.

"He would be mad at me if he found out I wasn't eating..." she whispered to herself.

She walked over to the table and sat down. Ignoring the fact that the food was cold now, she did enjoy it to the best of her current ability. She couldn't fully finish it because of how little she has been eating recently, but she did eat the majority. Just as she leaned back, there was knock on her door. She groaned lightly, not wanting to move with a full stomach. Even so, she stood up and made her way over to the door. She opened it up and she looked up in surprise seeing Rowan.

"How are you feeling Miss?" he asked her.

She smiled a bit at his concern but answered, "hard to say. So, are you his message boy again?"

He smiled at the questioned and answered, "not this time. I want to give you a tour, if you're willing that is. If you don't know your way around here, it's easy to get lost."

"Sure." He moved to the side so that she could leave the room, but instead she went deeper in. He watched her curiously as she picked up the nearly empty plate. After that, she left the room explaining, "I don't care for being taken care of."

"At least allow me to carry it for you."

"I got it Rowan."

He smiled and patted her back. He led her over to the kitchen first. She could only take one step inside of it before the plate was taken right out of her grasp. Her eyes widened at the handful of workers cleaning at light speed. She recognized one of them as the one who brought the food to her earlier. Rowan got her attention and he got her to leave the room before they became in the workers way. From there, the two walked down multiple different hallways that all looked the same. She understood now what he meant about getting lost. After a few minutes, he brought her to his favorite room. Her eyes widened at the large amount of books. She looked up at him in awe and he nodded. He couldn't help but smile as she quickly became engrossed. As she skimmed the titles, one stuck out to her.

"Chimeriad..." she whispered to herself.

"What was that you found?" he asked, approaching her.

Keeping her eyes on the title, she asked him, "what was Presa like?"

He frowned answering, "I didn't get to know her that well." He rubbed his beard as he took a moment to think back. When that moment passed he told her, "she was very loyal to Gaius. If you want to know anything, he would have the answers."

She shook her head saying, "no, I can't do that to him. I'm sure he already knows that I'm thinking about Alvin by how I act but to ask him to his face would be cruel."

"You truly are a kind woman."

She shook her head was was going to verbally deny it but while the topic was still out there she asked him, "so... what did happen to her?"

He looked up at the ceiling and told her, "we were all at the peak of the Nia Khera Hallomont nearly two years ago now. The cliff she was standing on collapsed and she fell." Her eyes widened and he nodded as he continued, "she fell in front of Alvin. He tried to reach for her but couldn't reach her in time."

As she felt her eyes water, she whispered, "I can't imagine..."

He nodded as he said, "we all lost a lot back then. But, I honestly don't know who lost more, him or Gaius."

"What do you mean?"

He took the book that she was looking at off the shelf and handed it to her. Before he could tell her more, a warrior came into the room asking for him. She let him know that she'll be fine on her own. He rested his hand on her shoulder before he left the room. After he was gone, she looked around the room seeing a couple different tables. She sat down at one of them and opened the book. In it, she read all about Wingul, Jiao, Agria, and Presa. She was instantly absorbed in the information. She read through the book much faster than she expected to and was thirsty for more knowledge. She got up and went back over to the shelves. This time she took multiple books ranging from topics of history from the birth of the Schism to current times in Rieze Maxia. She brought the armful of reading material to the table and began studying. The hours simply flew by for her. She was brought back to reality when a glass of scotch was placed in next to her. She looked up seeing Gaius holding his own glass.

She picked it up saying, "thank you."

"Seems you've been busy," he said as he glanced at the books she's been reading.

She nodded saying, "once I started I couldn't stop. Your history is fascinating."

"I'll let you get back to it then," he said as he stood up.

"I don't mind taking a break for now if there's something you wanted to do. My eyes are beginning to strain."

"Is there something you want to do?"

She shrugged and responded, "I don't know, what about you?"

He rubbed his neck saying, "I'm not used to staying still for hours. I need to do something physical before I whither away."

She smiled and glanced at him asking, "are you asking me to fight you?"

He crossed his arms and said, "you've proven to me that you're skilled. I'm curious to see how much."

"Bring it on."

She finished her drink before standing up. After pushing the chair in, she put all the books back in their respective spots. She did keep hold of the one she was currently reading so that she could finish it at a different time. Once she was ready, she approached him. He smirked and led her out of the room. While walking, Gaius felt another pair of eyes staring at him. He looked in her direction, seeing her pet watching him from her pocket. Right when he noticed, it pounced onto his shoulder. The two just watched it as it situated itself. Soon enough it was sitting and was staring forward as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. She laughed a bit while he just shook his head. With her pocket free now, she dropped the book in it. Soon, he led her over to a staircase that she didn't notice was even there. From there, she followed him down multiple stairs. Once they reached the bottom, they reached double doors. He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the doors.

"Damn..." she whispered.

The two entered a large dojo. A large variety of weapons were displayed in racks against the walls. For the larger weapons, such as his usual sword, were hung on the wall. As she examined the weapons, he took off his trench coat. The creature jumped away from him and ran over to Rhea. She picked it up and it snuggled against her. While she was distracted, he took his sword off the wall.

He looked over at her asking, "you sure you want to do this?"

Keeping her back to him, she answered, "hmm? Oh, I'm fine. You can start whenever you want. Don't mind me."

His eyebrow twitched in irritation as he questioned, "do you dare underestimate me?"

"It's nothing like that. I just believe I'm better than you," she answered, glancing at him from over her shoulder.

Doing his best to keep his emotions in check, he approached her asking, "are you taking me seriously?"

"Oh of course. I just like an extra challenge when possible. And I'm very sure even if I were blindfolded, I would still win."

"Before you get cocky, why don't you face me properly first?"

She pouted lightly but agreed. She put the animal into her free pocket and took off her jacket. She placed it out of the way so that she knows that the chances of it getting harmed was slim. After that, she looked back at the weapons unsure of what to choose. There were simply too many. But, since he did want a regular duel, she chose a sword that aesthetically pleased her. It was half the length of his but was also double the width. From the handle, to the tip of the blade, it was icy blue. It made her think of an icicle. Once she got a feel for it, she turned to face him. He smiled a bit, excited for a chance to stretch his muscles. Just a moment later, the air in the room changed. The two got into their starting poses and stared each other down.

Just before they could begin, his GHS began to ring. He let out a sigh before he answered. She was curiously as his expression quickly became serious. As he was talking, he went over to his coat and put it back on. She was unsure of what was going on, but she followed suit by putting on her own jacket. When she looked back at him, he sheathed his sword and made his way to the door. Really not knowing what to expect, she decided to keep the sword she chose with her and followed behind him. He locked the door just after she left. As they climbed the stairs, he explained to her that the city was being attacked. Apparently, word has gone around that he was back home and now a small group wanted him assassinated. What was strange to them was that it wasn't Exodus. It didn't matter though, especially not to him. All he cared about was making sure that his subjects weren't getting harmed. As soon as they reached the top of the staircase, they simply ran through the castle. As they got closer to the front door, the intense cold hit them. The fact that it was nighttime made this so much worse. Doing her best while in motion, she took off the scarf and wrapped it around her face so that only her eyes were exposed. The echoes of screams added to their adrenaline. As they ran through the castle grounds, they noticed the screams were coming from two main different locations. In having no choice, they split up in hope to save as many civilians as possible. The terrorists assumed that just because they attacked at night, they would have the upper hand. The two, along with Rowan and all the soldiers available quickly took care of the problem. The soldiers captured the attackers.

Rhea was ready to go back until she heard crying. She turned around seeing an injured little girl. She quickly went over to her and examined her. In just noticing a few scratches, she carefully picked her up to help keep her warm. She asked her where she lived so that she could bring her home, but she was lost. Before she could try to figure out what to do, Gaius ran up to her. His concern was initially for her, until he saw the child.

He rested his hand on her head and spoke kindly, "your parents are worried sick."

The child's eyes widened and she questioned in awe, "King Gaius?"

"Yes?"

The little girl broke down and reached over to him. Gaius easily took her from Rhea and started walking in the direction he came from. She followed right behind him. As soon as they turned the corner, two people ran straight to their king. He returned their child to them and they bowed deeply. As soon as they were out of sight, he made one more scan of the area to make sure nothing else was out of the ordinary. Rowan approached him saying that everything was neutralized once more. He nodded and looked back at the silent woman. He rested his hand on her shoulder, only for her to gasp in pain. He frowned deeply and ushered her all the way back to his castle. As soon as they entered, she took the scarf off. As soon as her mouth was free, she took in a deep breath. She had layered the material too many times which had made it hard for her to breathe. He looked back at her in concern when hearing her. She shook her head to let him know she was fine. That really didn't change his concern when he knew her shoulder was hurting. He rested his hand on her back and gently pushed her so that she'd keep up with him. She followed his lead silently. He led her to the closest room that had a seat. The two sat down on the plush couch.

"Can you take off your jacket so I can see the damage?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she answered doing so. The shoulder of her white shirt was soaked with blood. Before he worried too much, she stretched the shirt just enough to expose the wound. "It's not that bad," she assured him.

It really wasn't that bad, it was a clean slice that wasn't even too deep. Just seeing her hurt made him feel guilt though. He used a quick spirit arte to seal it up and she put the jacket back on so that he wouldn't see the blood. Unable to hold back any longer, he wrapped his arms around her tightly. He traded out the worry with sadness when she tensed up. He really didn't want to, but he did let her go. He tried to get her to look at him, but she just couldn't meet his gaze. What he did notice, was her grasp on the familiar yellow scarf. As if on cue, her GHS rang. She looked at the name and instantly tears streamed down. She couldn't get herself to answer, she just kept staring at his name.

When he let out a tired sigh, she whispered, "I'm sorry..."

"Is there nothing I can do?" he asked her, even though he knew the answer.

"I think that I'd rather be alone if I can't be with him... That way I wouldn't hurt others like I am now... I can't stop thinking about him... I'm so sorry..."

"... So why don't you answer?"

"Because I'm a coward..."

"You should answer," he told her as he stood up and left the room.

She felt like a complete bitch. He did all he could to make her happy and she repaid him with pain. She pulled her knees up to her and held her legs tightly with her free arm. She then rested her forehead on her knees. Her blurred vision was locked on the display screen. She couldn't help but notice his name wasn't vanishing. In her one brave split second decision, she opened the phone and placed it against her ear.

"Rhea?!" Alvin exclaimed.