Yo!

Not a ton to say at the beginning here, other than that I hope you enjoy the continuation of last week's cliffhanger!

Chapter 27

It had been an awful long time since Cinder Fall had last felt completely and utterly trapped.

It had always seemed like, no matter what happened, she possessed some form of out. No matter if she had been imprisoned, enslaved, by Madame and her daughters, she'd stolen swords and cut them down, escaping in the process.

No matter if she'd been taken away by the Queen of the Grimm. She'd feigned subservience to her, stolen away the power that she'd give away, and used it for her own aims. No matter if she was expected to track a Maiden on her own with nothing but a continent to go off of, she had found her, and she had struck.

No matter if the Maiden had gotten away. She had traced her to Beacon. She had come up with a plan to infiltrate, and…

And it was no matter that she'd become somewhat compromised along the way. It was no matter that she thought so often of a warmth atop her hand, of that expression of care in verdant green eyes. When it came down to it, she would do what must be done.

And she had. She'd come here, taken out everyone in her way, and installed Watts' virus into the CCT. From here on out, all she had to do was sit and wait. All she had to do was stand by and allow Remnant to tear itself apart.

Of course, it couldn't be that simple. Of course, the maelstrom in her chest couldn't be the only thing she had to deal with. No… no that woman, that woman and her infernal gaze, of course, had to find her.

She had been lucky she'd thought to dress more conservatively; to cover her hair, her face, her features. Everything but her eyes, and even they are hidden behind a tinted glass. Because…

Because there was no one more adept at catching her here and now than the woman standing opposite her, now steadily approaching with her crop held high. She… the look in her eyes then was something Cinder had never seen.

It was an oddity among the woman's expressions. Normally there was such fire in her gaze, such determination, such care. And yet now, oddly, it was with a detached air that she approached, that she took in Cinder's form, evidently trying to catalogue useful information for what she very well assumed could be a fight.

And she was going to be right, wasn't she?

Because Cinder could not surrender. That was obvious. She could not be discovered here. Not after everything. Not and have it all be meaningless, not and have her plan come crashing to the ground.

Not and have the life she'd built here go with it.

It concerned Cinder, somewhat, that she did not know anymore which of those two possibilities scared her more.

Which meant, whether she liked it or not…

She was going to have to battle Glynda Goodwitch.

And she was going to have to win.

More than that, she was going to have to do so in a way that didn't arouse the woman's suspicion, that didn't give anything else away. She could not use anything here that might come back to Cinder Fall, her student, the woman who she…

Cinder bit down on her bottom lip as she reached out with her semblance, and formed a false Midnight out of fire and dust. It hardened in an instant, not quite enough for it to realistically serve as a long-term weapon, but it would do for the likely minute or so Cinder would require it for.

She split it in twain as she took a stance as well.

Glynda Goodwitch likely wasn't alone. She was not the type to rush in unprepared against an unknown enemy. She would have already called for back-up. This meant, above all else, that Cinder had little time to work with.

She had to escape, and she had to do so quickly.

Unfortunately, this was not quite like the normal battles that Cinder often engaged in. It was not against an enemy whose power she dwarfed, or whose experience she had outmatched. No…

No, Glynda Goodwitch was strong. Strong, fast, and resourceful. She'd figured out as much from briefly dueling her inside of the bullhead she'd had to use to bail out Roman that night at the dust shop.

They'd sparred so briefly, but the only way Cinder had been able to get away without utilizing the Maiden's flame had been to exploit one Ruby Rose's presence, and force the woman to either attack her, or protect the girl.

She'd chosen the latter, as they'd both known she would.

Now, though, Cinder had no such advantages. Nor did she have anything–

Glynda moved.

Cinder's instincts took over.

It was a powerful first exchange. The woman's leg, still hugged closely by the dress that she'd chosen for the dance that night, rocketed towards her, and even tanking the blow on the aura-infused faux-Midnight, it was still enough to send cracks running up the glass. She gritted her teeth as she pushed the woman back, and swung her blades up into a bow, firing off two shots in tandem.

Glynda batted the both of them aside so casually, so effortlessly, that Cinder almost found herself spellbound. The smallest drop of sweat ran down her face, glinting against the focused, yet low light of the room, framing her entire being in–

Focus! Her mind shouted at her, and for once, Cinder couldn't quite argue with its assessment. She followed its order as she ducked underneath Glynda's next attack, a sailing kick that went right over her head. It seemed that had been intended, however, or at the very least, that Glynda had read her well enough, for instead of allowing Cinder to counterattack in that moment, she instead utilized her own semblance.

Glynda Goodwitch briefly glowed purple, before she began to hover midair. It was a subtle thing, but Cinder confirmed her suspicion, when, in stark refusal of the law of gravity, Glynda Goodwitch kicked at her with her other leg as well, despite having no purchase with which to do so, on account of her other leg still sailing over Cinder's head.

The move looked rather ridiculous, although, as Cinder found herself rocketing backwards, flooding aura into the left side of her skull to try and keep herself steady, she couldn't deny it had been effective.

And Glynda wasn't letting up. Not for a moment.

Which meant Cinder couldn't, either.

Her infiltration suit glowed, the dust within it activating and blazing around her. If Glynda was at all caught off guard by this then she didn't show it, for she effortlessly weaved through the multiple different types of dust, even managing to skirt around a gravity trap that Cinder hastily threw down. She aimed her crop towards Cinder, and flung a few chairs towards her.

Cinder ducked underneath them, briefly losing eye-contact, and assuming rather simply that she was about to be hammered by something else.

Except, just when she was sure Glynda would utilize some ranged maneuver, perhaps the glyphs she had once used during her fight with Cinder those months ago…

She flew at her like a rocket, and tackled her to the floor.

Briefly, very, very briefly, Cinder wondered just what the hell it was the woman was doing. After all, against an enemy utilizing blades, this maneuver was idiotic. It would be stupid to close the distance, especially when, at range, she had taken the advantage in their previous position.

Cinder's pseudo-question was answered in the next moment by the elevator at the back of the room closing, and the sound of it lowering down to the bottom floor filtered through the room.

Her reinforcements were coming.

Which meant that Glynda didn't have to win.

She just had to keep her here.

Cinder felt an honest, actual fear filter through her at that. The possibility that she might be caught, that her plan might fail, that it might be Glynda herself responsible…

"Who are you!?" The woman shouted down at her as they wrestled on the floor. "What did you – grk! – do to the CCT!?"

Cinder, of course, remained silent. She was focusing on breaking out of the woman's grip, but it was either reinforced with her semblance, or Glynda was a hell of a lot stronger than she looked, for the woman barely budged against Cinder's efforts.

And then Cinder heard the elevator reverse direction, now coming up.

Her heart nearly stopped.

She had moments. Perhaps ten seconds to act before Ironwood, Ozpin, any manner of huntsman or huntresses fully capable of bringing her down might arrive.

And so, Cinder did the only thing she could do.

She let the Maiden's flame fill her breast.

There was really only enough time for Glynda's eyes to widen before she was launched backwards with a torrent of fire. Cinder had allowed it to encompass her entire being, to scorch everything around her.

She did not waste the chance, despite the way that Glynda called out for her to stop. She did not hesitate, or freeze, or do any such thing.

No, she ran as fast as she could, and then, preparing herself as best she could, she launched herself out of the CCT's window.

The glass shattered, and she hurtled towards the ground with her aura already prepared. She rolled as she landed, trying to preserve her momentum as she hurled herself across the school grounds.

She could hear a commotion from above, but she was just the smallest bit faster. Just the smallest bit more ready.

She'd planned for this, after all.

And so, when Glynda Goodwitch finally made it to the broken window, and stared out along the courtyard beyond it, there was not a single soul to see.

/

Cinder hadn't exactly planned on such a large amount of exertion when she'd started the evening. Here she was, running away from her problems, and towards the restrooms that she'd gone into earlier. As she entered in, and took a stall on her own, she allowed her disguise to fade, slipping back into the outfit she'd chosen for the night, the obsidian black dress.

And then, without waiting a single second to check her reflection, or make sure she looked alright – which really should've concerned her, but she had more pressing matters to attend to – Cinder hurried back towards the ballroom.

Luckily, she somehow managed to get back before Glynda by rushing her way there, and so it was that she was able to wave to the woman, effectively establishing in the woman's mind the alibi that she'd been here the whole time.

Of course, Glynda would have no reason to doubt her, but it never hurt to be careful.

"You… you're back." Glynda said, panting slightly.

"Of course." Cinder said, and she was manually controlling her breathing so as to not be doing the same. Any visible discomfort on her face from the pain of forcing her body to take in less oxygen than it really needed she could explain away as the sickness. "My stomach is feeling a bit better. I'm sorry I left."

She did her best to put on the air of someone who wasn't guilty of anything other than a small bout of illness, and had definitely not been dueling against the woman she was now speaking with, as if nothing had happened.

"I suppose my nerves simply got the best of me."

Glynda nodded in understanding, but it was clear she was distracted.

"Is everything alright?" She said, pretending as if she didn't know exactly what was wrong.

"Yes, well, no, but–" It was entirely unlike Glynda Goodwitch, the way the woman stammered for a response. Cinder couldn't quite hide the way her lips curled upwards. "It is not you that is wrong, that much is certain."

Perhaps it was the adrenaline still coursing through her system, but Cinder found herself able to be just a tad bit braver than she might otherwise be.

"Well, well, quite the complement." She smarmed, savoring the way that Glynda's face briefly reddened. "You know exactly what to say."

"…Regardless," Glynda bulldozed her way through her comment a second or two too late to seem natural at all. "I am… likely to be needed away from the ballroom soon enough. I wanted you to know it was not at all your fault."

Ah. Her actions at the CCT would require the woman to spend her evening in long meetings, interrogation's, perhaps even a meeting with Vale's council. Cinder supposed it was regrettable, but needs must, after all.

…Regrettable that the woman would have to leave, of course. Not what she'd done to the CCT. She would never regret following her own designs.

Never.

"But… before then…" Glynda awkwardly held her hand out, smiling down at her with just the smallest bit of worry prickling at the edges of her features. "Well, I would feel rather terrible if I had to leave you with nothing. Would you… care to share a dance? We can't exactly spend the night away on the floor, but…"

Cinder refused to acknowledge the way a certain part of her cheered at the words, even as she took the woman's hand in her own.

"Why, of course, I would."

And so, she allowed herself to be pulled into Glynda's embrace, and the two of them created a dance floor all themselves, in the corner of the room, where few eyes could even see.

/

It was roughly three minutes later that found Cinder frowning lightly as the song they'd been swaying to faded away. Not for the first time, she narrowly avoided stepping on the toes of the woman in front of her, earning a small chuckle from Glynda, who was content, it seemed, to take the lead for the both of them.

It was perhaps necessary.

Because of course, Glynda Goodwitch could dance. Why wasn't Cinder surprised?

She, rather pointedly…

"You're not a dancer, are you, Ms. Fall?"

Cinder let out a low groan at the way Glynda Goodwitch was so clearly amused. She looked up at her a bit petulantly, letting her eyes show some of the indignation that she was experiencing.

"Ah, well, forgive me my shortcomings."

"You're forgiven." Glynda spoke, before smiling down at her once more. "I must admit it is oddly pleasing to find something you struggle with. You are normally so naturally gifted."

Cinder could, rather vaguely, recall Glynda calling her that before. It had been… gods, so long ago now that she was having trouble quite placing it. Before her feelings had been known, surely, and perhaps even before she'd admitted them to herself. But now…

Those words irked her more than they had then.

"I am not gifted." Cinder spoke, although her voice slipped, almost on instinct, to the tone she'd often use to cow Adam or Roman, something unforeseen to Glynda. "I worked every day and night for the power I wield. Any strength I possess is not thanks to my birth, or to circumstances beyond my control, but due to the effort I put in."

She hadn't meant to come off so icy, but she winced ever so slightly at realizing she certainly had.

Far from be offended, however, Glynda almost looked amused.

"Yes. I'd thought as much. What's more, it's so unusual to see you, normally so in control, break composure for even a moment."

There was something undeniably alien about this night, and if not for the fact that she'd very much felt the contact of Glynda Goodwitch's leg connecting with her face, she might've thought it all a dream.

But no, reality, sometimes, really could be stranger than fiction.

"Are you… teasing me?" She found herself asking.

The little smirk on Glynda's face was so smug. "I've no idea what you mean, Ms. Fall.

"Cinder." She corrected, leaning forward, and staring up into the woman's eyes. "You'll call me Cinder if you think you're going to get away with teasing me like that."

Glynda shook her head as she let out a quiet, though notably slightly awkward, chuckle. And then, the next song, which really had taken quite some time, came on. It was a far faster piece than the slower waltz the last one had been, and so as Cinder found herself drawn against Glynda's body again, she was…

Well, she was practically flailing.

It was comical, in a cosmic sense, Cinder supposed. She was, after all, quite the haughty individual, she would not contest that. For her to be humbled like this was something she perhaps deserved.

But then…

"Here, place your hand on my hip, like this," Glynda guided her into a better position. "And move your foot – there you go, that's better."

"A teacher even now?" Cinder found herself saying, watching as the eyes of the woman across from her sparkled.

"I'm sure you'll find I do not often shy away from teaching."

"Yes," Cinder said, and for some reason, she pushed further, harder, more desperately. "There are so very many things I'd like for you to teach me."

She was rewarded with a blush on the face of the woman in front of her, and the briefest of stuttering's in the woman's stride. Just when Cinder thought she'd pushed too far, too harshly, the woman let out a quiet laugh under her breath, and looked up at Cinder with an almost contemptuous air.

"That's not the kind of thing you should say to your teacher, young lady."

It was… Cinder found it almost impossible to describe the feeling that ran through her at those words. The way her entire body felt alight in a way it never had before. Before that moment, she'd thought she'd known all the ways that she could burn, all the little intricacies of heat, and yet then…

There she was, in a corner of an auditorium, with a woman she… desired in her arms, and it was like she'd been lit aflame. Like Glynda was immolating her where she stood.

She didn't think she'd ever felt quite so alive.

And she laughed. It was a loud and raucous thing, far less ugly than the infernal snorting that she was occasionally caught off guard by. She hadn't yet allowed that emotion to settle by the time Glynda inquired as to its nature.

"What is it?"

And Cinder found herself wanting to be honest.

"I was simply trying to recall…" She wondered how she could phrase this without sounding like some sort of loon. "The last time I had such honest fun."

"And?"

"I couldn't remember a time." She answered, staring up into Glynda's verdant orbs with a smile entirely unlike herself. "Not in my entire life."

Glynda's eyes widened at that too, and Cinder could tell the woman understood somewhat the significance of what Cinder was saying – even when she'd not even meant to say it. That she could stand resolute with that weight on her shoulders… no, that she could stand to be with Cinder at all, to even associate with her with all of the… everything hanging about her…

She was…

"Then I suppose I can keep Ozpin waiting just a little while longer."

Cinder couldn't contain her smile.

And so, the two of them danced to a third and final song. It had been a brief experience, their night together. Only perhaps an hour that they'd been allowed to chat, and spend together in its entirety, but…

Cinder felt as if something had come of it. Some… some familiarity. Some comfortability. Something that would last past the evening, and perhaps continue beyond it.

And so enthralled in that feeling was Cinder as the two of them danced, that she missed the way Glynda's body, momentarily, tensed against hers.

It might have, on a different night, in a different setting, pressed against a different someone, caused her eyes to narrow. It might have caused her brain to want to investigate further, to pry and pry until she had answers…

But as Glynda re-righted herself, and pulled her along to some rhythm she knew not the name of…

She probably wouldn't have even found it in herself to care.

/

Ozpin's office was dark as the elevator opened up to Glynda Goodwitch, and she stepped out of it and into the room proper. Ironwood and Ozpin were seemingly already discussing something, though Glynda had a fairly decent guess as to just what that was.

"Ah, Glynda." Ozpin spoke, looking up at her and smiling. "I must admit, I was beginning to worry. It's not quite like you to be late."

Glynda very nearly betrayed the reason for her tardiness by going red in the face, but she managed to stay composed, instead simply nodding her head to the both of them in apology.

"A student and I exchanged brief words outside the auditorium. It took me a bit longer to finish the conversation than I'd thought it might."

Ironwood seemed to buy that, but there was the subtlest glint in Ozpin's eye that told her he wasn't fooled at all.

"A student, hm?"

"Indeed." She said, stone-faced.

"Well, alright," Ozpin allowed her to wriggle away with her dignity. "Then, to start, If you wouldn't mind, Glynda, could you run us through your account as to what happened this evening?"

Glynda would not admit how much she was glad for the change in topic. Now that the adrenaline of trying to capture an armed assailant had faded from her system, she couldn't help but wince at some of the words that she and Cinder had shared.

…and she found herself wincing even worse when she realized that she didn't entirely regret any of them.

"I had originally left the building purely to clear my head." Glynda said, and it was the truth, she'd left the auditorium in order to get some air, to recenter herself and try and find…

Even now she wasn't entirely sure. Part of her thought it was to find exactly what it was that she wanted out of the evening. And yet, even now, nearly an hour later, she still had no idea herself.

"Regardless of that, I spotted the guards at the entrance to the CCT on the ground. I rushed over and confirmed the both of them to still be breathing, although they'd definitely been knocked unconscious by someone. Thusly, I went inside. I traveled up the elevator, and found the assailant."

James stroked his chin idly, while Ozpin simply nodded along. "And can you describe the assailant herself?"

"It was a woman, and she was of average height. I couldn't discern much more than that; she had on a sleek black outfit evidently meant for a stealth operation. It was lined with dusts of various kinds, which she seemed to be able to call forth with an application of aura. She'd just finished doing… something when I arrived."

"Mm." Ironwood spoke, letting out a heavy breath. "Our techs say they have no idea what it is they're looking for. The system looks, for all intents and purposes, green across the board."

"I doubt I need to tell you to make sure they're thorough?" Ozpin turned to Ironwood, and the other man laughed.

"No, you do not. I have them quadruple checking every single section of the code."

Glynda mentally grimaced. That sounded like a multi-day – potentially multi-week – operation for a whole team of people. And a painstaking one at that.

Still, she couldn't deny that it was perhaps necessary. Because of what else Glynda had confirmed in that building.

"I have something else to report." Glynda spoke, and she watched as the other two turned towards her, curious. "The assailant… she wielded the Fall Maiden's power."

Their eyes widened, and Glynda could not entirely blame them. The attack on Amber had come out of nowhere, and even if all of them had known that the life she'd chosen to live – one of wandering the frontier villages of Vale – was not particularly safe… well…

None of them had expected what had happened.

It was James who got over his shock first. "You're certain, Glynda?"

"I am." She confirmed it. "Amber and I occasionally trained with one another. I… I had felt that fire before."

The kind of fire that burned in a different way. Feeding not off of a traditional fuel, or a dust, or a semblance, and therefore aura, but…

But the raw magic of the world. Of the kind of magic that Ozpin, and his darker other half, could wield. It was the sort of thing one would not miss had they felt it, and Glynda had felt it more than enough.

"If it's true, then we've found Amber's assailant. That, in and of itself, is good news."

"The bad news, of course, is that Amber's assailant was in Beacon." Ironwood took over, shaking his head. "She was only a few hundred meters from Amber, Oz, if that."

"I'm aware." Ozpin spoke, letting out a long sigh that seemed to contain a century within it.

"More importantly, the fact that she has access to Beacon is an issue." Ironwood continued speaking. "No security is perfect, but I would like to think yours is better than this."

"Unfortunately, it being the night of the dance allowed many who weren't from our Academy to attend as plus ones." Ozpin said, shaking his head. "Which means any number of unchecked individuals could've entered and exited our premises tonight."

Glynda nodded her head, even as she felt the smallest bit of sickness worm its way through her body.

And then a crow landed on the windowsill.

Glynda's eyes were wide as the bird tapped twice, then twice again, and then a final time. That…

That was the code.

Ozpin stood up, made his way over, and unlatched the window, allowing the bird to flutter inside, and to transform back into the middle-aged alcoholic that it really was.

Qrow had arrived.

"Sorry I'm late, Oz." Qrow spoke, cracking his neck and letting out a low, gravelly sigh. "I rushed here the moment I heard there was a commotion."

"How did you find such a thing out without being present?" Ironwood asked, his eyebrows drawing down.

"Eh, call it intuition."

"…You've been listening in on our high-security communications line again, haven't you?"

Qrow smirked. "I confirm nor deny nothin'."

Ironwood groaned as he pinched his nose with his non-robotic arm.

"Still, catch me up to speed, will ya'?"

They did so, and near the end, explaining that the one who'd attacked Amber had been the same one to assault the CCT, he looked pensive.

"So… the Maiden's near enough to go about entering Beacon, huh?"

"She is not necessarily operating out of Vale." Ozpin spoke up. "After all, the dance has been a publicly known event for years. It's advertised on our website. It would not be hard for someone to see such a thing, fly in a month or so ahead of time so as to not raise any red flags, and enter in unsuspected."

Qrow grumbled, but he couldn't refute the argument. Whoever it was that had attacked the CCT had picked a near perfect night to do it. They would be nearly undetectable, for there were simply too many people who'd entered into the building that, even if their description narrowed down who it was, they were looking for slightly…

Well, Glynda still imagined they were looking at a good fifty young women, and it wasn't like they could simply detain them all, no matter how badly it seemed James wanted to.

"Regardless, Beacon needs to be on alert." Ozpin spoke, weaving his fingers together in front of him. "And what's more… I fear our timeline for choosing a Maiden candidate has moved up. It may be that we need to make a choice before the Vytal Festival has even begun."

"I would advise against bein' so hasty, Oz." Qrow spoke, shaking his head. "Whatever that woman did, and we know she did somethin', It isn't traceable by any of Atlas' tech. We're dealing with her, and you know it. If we don't play our cards right…"

"…Then we may regret it." Ozpin sighed. "You are correct, as much as I wish you were not."

"Hah, that's a rarity."

"I suppose that we will likely have more information to go off of in the morning. James, was your team able to gather any footage from the cameras?"

"It's there, but it's just as Glynda said," James spoke, gesturing towards her. "The figure was cloaked in a black outfit. Besides being a woman, fighting with swords that turn into a bow, and being the Fall Maiden's assailant, we know very little."

Glynda paused there for a moment, before remembering something she'd forgotten to mention.

"She has a semblance that interacts with dust."

"Hm?"

Glynda realized that without further explanation, her words were rather useless. "At the beginning of the fight, she formed her bow-blade out of what seemed to be a black, glassy type of dust. It carried the properties of fire dust, but it certainly wasn't metal. I was able to crack it with a kick."

Qrow nodded. "I didn't see much of what any of those bastards did when I went in to save Amber, but if they took her out, then they were either damned strong, or damned tricky. My bet is on the latter, since you say you were handling her alright, Glyn."

"Do not call me that." She shut the man down, earning a snicker from his side of the room. "And yes, I was able to go even with her. I don't think either of us revealed what we were truly capable of, but I am confident that I would be able to beat her in a fight to the death."

Ozpin nodded. "Still, let us hope we capture her far sooner, and that it does not come to that."

They all nodded, and Glynda could sense that the conversation had all but wrapped up. Ozpin cleared his throat, likely to lay out a plan of some sort.

"For now, we remain on high alert. I do not have to tell any of you how important it is that we root out the source of this attack. James, continue to have your men examine both the footage and the CCT. Anything you find, report it back to me."

The man nodded.

"Qrow, stay within Beacon for a time. Act as a hidden set of eyes and ears."

"Ah, missions as a bird." The man sighed, though there was a definite smile playing at his lips.
"My favorite."

"And Glynda…" Ozpin turned towards her. "If you remember anything else, anything at all, no matter how small or insignificant… then please do not hesitate to share it."

Glynda Goodwitch was not used to feeling… scrutinized under Ozpin's gaze, but for perhaps the first time, she found herself unable to quite resist being the first between them to look away. If Ozpin thought that at all odd, he didn't comment on it. Instead, he dismissed them all without another word.

Qrow left through the window, turning back into a carrion, and soaring away. It seemed James still had something he wanted to discuss with Ozpin, and so he remained stationary, which meant Glynda would have the lift to herself.

She was not at all adverse to this. She needed time alone to clear her head. To try and make some sense of the swirling vortex of thoughts within her head. She pressed the button for the bottom floor and practically slumped against the back wall of the elevator, letting her limbs go slightly slack.

…

She thought back, not to the encounter with the mysterious assailant, and not to her initial talks with Cinder, just how… ill-thought out they had been. No… no she thought of a particular moment. The two of them dancing along to the third song, and…

And something like lightning had shot up her spine.

It wasn't much. It was… at best, it was a feeling. Just a simple feeling.

But she couldn't manage to shake it, no matter how much she tried.

Because…

Because the way that Cinder had felt dancing along in her arms…

And the way that assailant had felt, struggling against her grip…

…No… Glynda thought to herself, placing her arm over her eyes as she tried to block out the light of the elevator above her, and as she tried and failed to shake away that impossible feeling.

It just couldn't be…

End Chapter 27

And so, the plot THICKENS.

As of now, we've effectively entered into what I would say is the second phase of this story. Things are about to ramp up in terms of stakes, and a bit in drama as well. Honestly, we won't be losing the general light-hearted feel, but things will be getting serious, so stay tuned!

Also, unfortunately, expect there to be no chapter next week. Got a lot of things happening at the moment, and I kind of just want to take some time to focus on the more temporary things. Next chapter will be in two weeks, so I hope you all look forward to it!

Anyways, I'll see you all then!