Chapter 45
Wow! Nephry Osborne, the governor of Keterburg, is Jade's sister!
Nephry was a really nice person, unlike Jade. Repair of the Tartarus would take some time, so we decided to spend it looking around the town.
But just as we were leaving the Osborne manor, Nephry pulled me aside and told me to come see her alone, that she has something important to tell me. I wonder what it is...
The tall building the party saw from the field was apparently the fanciest hotel in Keterburg. Resting in the middle of the town center, the hotel was likely the only other place where Luke and the others had gone. As soon as Raine and Guy entered, she noted how quiet the place was. Had it really become that late? It was still twilight when they got here and she wasn't sure how long she slept.
"Raine, I have something to ask you," Jade said from his spot near the door.
"Ah!" She jumped, startled. He apparently had been waiting for them, his arms folded across his chest as he sat at the table closest to the door. It was a simple phrase, but he might as well have shouted that he found the heretic half-elf derailing the Score. She swallowed. She couldn't help but notice his legs were crossed, too.
Feigning ignorance on the hope that he wouldn't ask after all, she asked, "What do you want to talk about?"
But Guy answered instead. "Things I'm sure you don't want him to know." He knew from experience, no doubt. Suddenly, she felt bad about that, but still… she didn't want him knowing what happened on the Tartarus. She just… couldn't afford to.
She turned to Guy and pled with her eyes for him to move on. Reluctantly, he took up the hint.
"What floor are we on?" He asked.
"Third." Jade answered.
Guy left through the elevator and Raine turned back to Jade. If he couldn't see her fear, it was because of the low lamplight.
"Were you waiting for me this whole time?"
He pushed up his glasses. "Well, actually, I wanted to speak with Luke, but seems as you're here…."
She ignored Luke's name and sat down across from him. Why bother trying to dissuade him from the topic? He was going to ask eventually and it was better not to have anyone else listening in. But getting answers out of her would be harder if she didn't speak at all. Unfortunately, he didn't speak either. They sat in silence until it was too uncomfortable for her and she shifted to sit in another position.
"You had a question," she stated.
"Will you answer it?"
No, she thought. So that's why he hadn't spoken yet. He had suspected she might not give him a straight answer, even with their pact. "I'm sorry I tore up the Tartarus."
"What happened?"
"Are you sure you want to ask?" Raine asked him. "You'll end up banking a lot of questions."
"I don't mind," he said in a tone that suggested he truly didn't. "It's a useful pact." She supposed it was. "The damage you caused was severe. What was wrong with the radar window? It appeared to have been working properly."
Raine shrugged and started paying more attention to the lamp on the table. The glasswork on the chimney had been etched with fine patterns in the shape of flowers. Kind of strange for a winter-burdened town. She had said she'd screen the questions, after all, and decide if she didn't want to answer them.
He apparently remembered that. "Did you not know what the monitors were for? I imagine for you, they would be easy enough to use, or for any kind of scholar. As amusing as it was to see you jump up and down like a ribbit, you should've told us if there was a problem with the equipment." Like a ribbit? She supposed that's what she did when she got up to see Luke's screen. Of course someone would notice, especially since Jade could see the whole bridge. Damn. She didn't even think of that! "Or was it a personal problem?" Ugh, he wasn't going to stop, was he? It was just like what she'd done to him at Chesedonia. He wanted answers and was going to get them one way or another. Raine finally sat up straight and looked him in the eye.
"The Rheaird was the only vehicle I've controlled before."
"But it's not the only fontech you've ever used, I'm sure."
Actually, she'd never used fontech before the Tartarus, but admitting that would raise more of the wrong kind of questions. "Fontech is newer to me than you think." He raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond. So, it wouldn't be enough of an answer. "Look, Jade, I did the best I could with what knowledge I had at the time."
"What knowledge is withheld from the text on the screen? The books you carry with you contain the same symbols that are found on the Tartarus."
Doesn't mean I can read them. Raine sighed. "You answered your own question," she said. At that, he straightened, unfolding his arms. "But that doesn't mean I'm not counting it, too." His frown deepened.
He watched her with that searing gaze, again making her feel exposed, like he could tell everything about her just from looking in her eyes. She avoided him by returning her attention to the lamp, inside of which the flame flickered. She reached for the base and pushed it front of her as if to use it as a wall between him and her. She saw his head nod on the edge of her vision.
"Have you heard of Dr. Neis?"
"Doctor…?" Genuinely confused, Raine shook her head. "No, I don't know who that is." The frustration on Jade's face made her nervous. Why was he looking at her like that?
"How about Dr. Balfour?"
Shook her head. Who were these doctors? Should she have known them?
Jade's voice changed to a lower tone. "Have you ever been to Ortion Cavern?"
"No, I'd never heard of that before either."
He clearly didn't expect that answer. His confusion was subtle, but she saw it in his eyes. "You've traveled across the Radessia continent, quite extensively. Perhaps you knew the cave by another name?" That sinking feeling in her stomach returned. Something wasn't adding up for him. Maybe she should be concerned about that….
Should she stick to that lie? Again, she felt him closing in on something but without knowing what, it made it hard to know what was safe to say. "Does that amount to something? No, I don't know the names of the caves on Radessia."
"Perhaps," Jade shrugged. "I'm just curious about why you didn't want to join us in learning about Van's motives."
"What does that have to do with Ortion Cavern and those doctors? I already told you," Raine said. "I wanted to go to Sheridan and fix up the Rheaird."
"All of it is connected. You have as much interest in Van's motives as you have in replicas, and yet Van's research includes replicas, something you still claim to be. Nothing about this situation interests you even though you also claim to be a scholar, one of the most curious types in the world."
"I have higher priorities."
Jade raised an eyebrow. "Such as...?" She didn't answer. "What would fixing the Rheaird do for you?"
"Things you can't imagine," she said. It was true.
"I think that answer violates our agreement."
"You can't wring that answer out of me," she replied. "You've asked a lot of questions already, and I remember agreeing that I can screen them. By the way, just because you phrase your question as a statement doesn't mean it's not a question."
"That's why everyone finds you frustrating. You refuse to give straight answers." Frustrating was she? Hm. She supposed so. That wouldn't change her mind about talking, though. "Normally I don't mind, but we can't afford more problems—"
Raine stood, shoving her chair back as she did. "Then perhaps keep me from the controls. That makes a perfect solution, doesn't it?" She pointed an angry finger at him. "And if you want to throw accusations at me, tell me all about you and Dist!"
Jade didn't move and simply stared at her in silence. She had balled up her fists and realized she felt her nails carving into her skin when her palms suddenly hurt. She loosened her fingers. Her own anger surprised her. After a moment of silence, she sat down in her chair.
"I'm sorry."
"It wasn't entirely your fault." He said suddenly.
"What?"
"There was also mud from the Qliphoth jamming the Tartarus's machinery. If you hadn't have made us stop, we could've been stranded somewhere. Of course, you could've found a less damaging way to divert us."
Raine's eyes narrowed. In that case, what was with these questions?! That bastard was using this as an excuse to interrogate her. Well, she wasn't about to say another word about it. Apparently, he realized that.
"I grew up here," he gestured around, "in Keterburg. Dist and I went to the same school and I couldn't shake him off." So they were friends…. Raine felt herself calming.
"And you two worked on fomicry together."
"Everyone else knows this much by now, so I might as well tell you. I am responsible for your existence, even if I wasn't the one who directly created you. I created the theory for fomicry."
"You…?" Stunned, Raine stared at him. She had a feeling Jade had more to do with fomicry than studying it, but she never imagined he was behind the theory. "Fomicry exists because of you?"
Which meant he was responsible for Luke and Sync.
"Luke doubled back to talk to Nephry, my sister. I assume she's telling him all about me." Raine listened but without much interest. Of course, this would all be helpful if it anything to do with her Rheaird, but since he was talking, she decided to engage in it.
"What is there to say about you?"
"Since Luke is a replica created from my work, she likely wanted to tell him about it and how the theory progressed. It all started with my idea to replicate my sister's doll after she ruined it. It seemed like a better idea than buying a new one. As I grew older, the theory became, shall we say a bit of an obsession. Eventually human replicas became possible."
"Hence why you would to tell me." Though she suspected there was far more to the story than this. "And what about those doctors, who are they? More researchers?"
He nodded, but by the way he held his eyes, though, the feeling intensified. He didn't truly believe what he was saying about her being a replica. Should she be worried about that? Was he just playing along with her ruse? Had he figured it out yet? No. He seemed distracted, confused. If he did know the truth, wouldn't he be a little more confident? More arrogant? Maybe he wasn't telling the whole truth because he suspected she was lying about something again. "You know what? I don't care. I just want to find my brother and to do that, I need my Rheaird. Anything else is irrelevant."
"I hope that doesn't mean our pact is broken."
Just then the front door of the inn opened and Luke snuck in, closing it carefully. Then he noticed the futility of his efforts when he saw Raine and Jade nearby. Raine seized the chance to escape and left the both of them to discuss whatever. She pushed the button up two from the button with the star and the elevator doors closed like a shield protecting her from Luke's confusion and Jade's stare.
When the doors opened again, she saw Guy leaning against the far wall. Rather than face him, she turned down the hall and wandered the roundabout until she came back upon him. Huh. She stopped. The circular hallway gave her no clue which room was hers.
"Are we sharing a room?" She asked.
"I apparently asked the wrong question. Jade told me the floor, but he didn't tell me the room number. I would've come down to ask for it but…"
Oh.
"Yeah, he didn't tell me either," Raine said, suddenly realizing. No wonder Guy waited at the elevator. That was sweet of him to leave their conversation private. Or as private as it could be in the lobby of the most popular hotel in town. Good thing most of the guests were already asleep or out and about. "And the others haven't come out yet?"
"I thought Luke would, but he might already be sleeping." No, he was downstairs with Jade. Even knowing that, she didn't volunteer it. He could use that to leap into any question he wanted about what happened. "Well, Jade has to return eventually."
She walked along the hallway again, this time more slowly, not that doing so would suddenly reveal which room was theirs. It was more to avoid explaining to Guy about the Tartarus. Her arms wrapped around her shoulders, she sought comfort in the walk. When she came around again, Guy quit leaning against the wall. Now, he followed her on her third lap.
"You really don't mind traveling," he remarked again. "Or are you too nervous to sit still?" She didn't answer. Halfway through the lap, he spoke again. "We're not mad at you, you know."
You might not be…. Raine thought. "You don't think the others are mad?"
"You damaged the Tartarus. You didn't drown us." Like Luke almost did at Akzeriuth? No, she didn't mean that. Neither would Guy imply something like that. Her eyes and her heart refused to ignore it, though. Guy hadn't torn her apart for her role in the destruction of Akzeriuth, in fact no one had, but she still felt the loss. And if what Luke said was true, Saint Binah was headed down that same path.
But was that part of the Score?
Mohs had mentioned the war, not this.
"Luckily," Guy continued, "we were near a port..." He let his voice trail off with another unasked question and this one, too, she ignored. He wanted to know what happened and she would rather take her chances alone with the monsters outside Keterburg than tell him. Still, he smiled at her. "So, you're not even willing to talk about your bracelet?"
Raine shook her head.
"Okay, I won't ask. If it's too early to turn in, we can take a walk. Talk about anything else."
Of course, neither one said a thing as they circled the hallway around the elevator shaft.
After a while, Luke emerged from the elevator and saw Raine and Guy walking around the hallway.
"What's the matter?" Luke asked as soon as he saw them.
"You're up?" Guy asked. Luke nodded. "Huh. Well, what rooms are we in?"
"Oh." Luke checked the numbers on the doors and when he found the right ones, he pointed to one of the doors. "305 is ours, Guy. 307 is for the girls." He approached the men's door and opened it. Of course, the room inside would be empty but for Ion. Probably. If he wasn't outside with Anise somewhere. Raine wasn't looking forward to facing Tear, Natalia, or Anise if any of them were there. She stopped at the elevator doors and then looked to Guy. "You know, the scenery is a little bland in here. How about we walk outside?"
He grinned and nodded. It wasn't until they stepped out into the snow before Raine realized Jade wasn't in the lobby anymore, nor did he head up to their room, at least not with Luke. Where did he go?
Oh well. It probably didn't matter.
[changes]
Nephry wanted to tell me about the reason Jade invented fomicry. I don't know how well I can sum it up, but I'll try and write it down here.
Basically, Jade thought up fomicry as a way to replicate a doll that Nephry broke. I guess that is kind of strange... Normally you'd just buy a new doll. But anyway, that was the first replica he created.
Jade was a genius even when he was young, but he was never really able to understand the death of living things. He even killed harmless monsters just for fun. It was Professor Nebilim, a private teacher, who changed him. But an experiment Jade performed out of curiosity went awry and killed Professor Nebilim. He used fomicry on her while she was still breathing to try and revive her. That was the first living replica created...but even though it looked like her, it turned into a monster. Jade then had himself adopted by the Curtiss family and entered the army, all in order to revive Professor Nebilim.
Nephry wanted me, another replica, to act as a deterrent to Jade. She was worried that he's still trying to revive Professor Nebilim. But he doesn't look that way to me. I don't like him, but he does seem to have common sense, at least now. (He probably wouldn't want to hear that from me...) When I got back to the inn, Jade and Raine were talking, but then she ran away when she saw me. She really can't stand me being around. Guy wasn't with her. I wonder where he went? Anyway I found out Jade was actually waiting for me. He knew what Nephry had told me, and he said he's not trying to revive Professor Nebilim any longer. I think I can believe him when he says that... He understands death now. I saw that at Akzeriuth. So he'll be okay...I think.
Jade told me not to tell anyone about this. Yeah, I can't blame him. I wouldn't know how to explain it anyway.
Jade pulled the hood down of his cloak and stepped across the threshold at Nephry's manor, closing the door behind him. There were a few things he wanted to check out while he was here. He met his sister in her office. By the look on her face, she wasn't at all surprised to see him now that she knew he was in town, though she seemed a little puzzled about his presence now.
"So, you told Luke all about me."
Nephry paled a little from getting caught, but nodded. "I think he should know." After all, she likely knew Jade wouldn't actually retaliate.
"It's all right. He really should." But for some reason, Jade had a hard time wanting to do that himself. There never seemed to be the right moment if there ever was one. He shrugged off his cloak and hung it on her coat stand. "But I'm not here to admonish you about that. I'd like a look at the Malkuth official census and annual census amendments."
That, however, was a surprise to her. It took her a moment to respond. "How recent?"
"Oh, how about 2000? That should be a sufficient place to start."
"That far back?! What letters?"
"The whole alphabet would be useful."
She stood up and closed her eyes long enough to sigh. "Very well. Please come right this way."
Nephry led him to the archive library where a bookcase had been dedicated just for the censuses. The leather binding told her what year to pull, and she handed these to Jade.
"Thank you."
"Please put them away when you're finished," and with that, she left him to read.
He flipped open the first book for 2000 and sat down in the chair. The whole book was a list of names and years of birth, sorted by what city they lived in, and as needed, any notes on relations to other citizens. He checked for a specific name first, within Hod.
Sure enough…. Cecille [Gardios], Eugenie (1966). Married (1985) to Count Zygmunt Bazan Gardios (1960). Mother to Marybelle Radan Gardios (1987) and Gailardia Galan Gardios (1997). There was also a notation that Eugenie was originally from Kimlasca with a list of her parents and siblings. Hmm… That explained his knowledge of Malkuth quite nicely. And many other things. Guy Cecil sounded like a good alias for a man originally named Gailardia with a mother's maiden name Cecille and a cousin to whom he refused to give his last name. Guy was even about the same age as Gailardia. A smile tugged at his lips. Of course.
Now to search for Kloitz.
But after checking the 2000 and 2005 censuses and the amendment volumes for 2001, 2002, 2003, back to 1999, forward to 2004, 2006, there was no mention of a Kloitz anywhere, as a first or last name. Was he just not a man in Malkuth? That far back, Nephry also kept Kimlasca and Daath censuses, but when he checked those, Kloitz didn't show up there either. Just who was he? Jade then checked later volumes, to no avail. Not only that, but any Virginias he saw didn't have any association with Kloitz, Raine, or Genis, neither did any of the Virginias have the last name Sage. That certainly supported Raine and Genis being replicas. Frustrated, Jade snapped the 2008 census amendment closed. Was it all a lie?
Raine really was good at those.
Lying would've violated their agreement. Was she the kind of person who would cheat for answers? Perhaps so.
He returned all of the books to the shelf, but then stopped, staring at the 2006 amendment volume in his hand. Raine claimed to be twelve years old, and while he still didn't know how that could be, he knew she wasn't in the census at all, not even on the annual amendments' list of births. No, she didn't say that she was twelve years old, that was his assumption. She'd been traveling for twelve years…. Maybe he should check earlier years. Though that would be further evidence that she wasn't a replica after all. That would fine so long as he finally got some answers.
Still nothing.
Not even Sheena, he realized. How could so many people be missing from the census? Was it possible all of them were replicas? If so, how many replicas did they make?! He pushed the last volume back onto the shelf. No, creating that many replicas successfully wouldn't be that easy to hide… or do for that matter. There was another explanation for this. What was it?
Briefly, he had wondered if she was a time traveler with thinking King Ingobert wasn't the king she was looking for, but the only thing that idea explained was her knowledge of mana but not fonons. Nothing else fit. Tear read the date on the Score in Baticul and that alone would've told her she wasn't in the time she wanted to be. But she hadn't reacted until she heard that King Ingobert hadn't heard of Sheena, let alone met her. Besides, she asked about names, not the date. That was, of course, assuming time travel was a legitimate thing; however, the theory was unsupported. No, it definitely wasn't that….
She also didn't know Dist, either as a God General or as Dr. Neis, and she didn't know Jade as Dr. Balfour, but she traveled everywhere. Not knowing Dist provided stronger evidence that she wasn't a replica. If it were true she was a replica and knew it, surely their names would've come up at some point in her history, right? Then again, Raine happily accepted being called a replica. Was that evidence that she wasn't actually a replica at all? He rubbed his temple and began pacing as he thought about it. Somehow, that thought seemed more and more likely the longer he knew her.
Raine even claimed to have a mother named Virginia Sage and why would she if she were a replica? Was she being honest about that? If so, was her mother a surrogate? Or was she really a birth mother? Raine's cryptic answer could've gone either way, hinting at Virginia creating her or birthing her, or just plain raising her. But that still didn't explain everything about her. Jade had no idea why Mohs was interested in her and locked her in the Order Headquarters, though he could surmise that they knew she was strange somehow.
But if she wasn't a replica, what was going on?
Aliases, perhaps? After all, aliases were common. Guy Cecil was just one person in the party not carrying the name he was born with. Jade himself was another. Perhaps she, too, carried an alternate name.
He stopped at the window and stared through it beyond the faint snowflakes as he mulled it over, hands clasped behind his back. What was the answer here? What could explain her?
No one she mentioned or knew was in any of the censuses and even with aliases, that was a lot of people unaccounted for. And certainly, not everything Raine said was a lie. It seemed true that she had traveled quite extensively since she knew a lot about survival and finding her way. Yet, Elder McGovern said she had no knowledge of the world's geography, and she knew nothing of fonons when their journey started, but she could read nature's signs. How could someone know so little about Auldrant after traveling here for so long and yet know so much about the natural world?!
What's more, her writing was foreign to both Anise and Tear, and yet she couldn't read the written Fonic language; as evidenced by her inability to read the screen at the Tartarus, it was foreign to her. That's ridiculous! Of course she could read. Someone had to have taught her reading when they taught her writing, and yet the fonic writing was foreign to her? How?! Wasn't she working her way through the books she carried? But he heard it in her answer, she acted like reading was foreign to her. The only way the Fonic writing could be so foreign to her was if—
Wait. Was it possible…?
Jade's eyes widened at the thought of it. Was that really the answer? As he thought back, it did seem to make the most sense.
I did the best I could with what knowledge I had at the time. The text on the screen told her nothing, and that was his answer from her. The only way that could be true was if she couldn't read. But she read constantly. It seemed preposterous to consider a professor who couldn't read, but clearly she could write. He'd just assumed she'd been writing the Fonic writing.
What if she hadn't been? What if the writing Tear and Anise saw wasn't simply made up? What if that was Raine's native writing that she had passed off as her own made-up alphabet? It would be a perfect lie and yet this explained why she couldn't read. Instead of reading it, had she been studying the Fonic writing all along? Now that he thought about it, Raine was working through the books very slowly for someone who could read. He thought she was simply absorbing the information by working through it carefully. What if that wasn't true? Was she actually teaching herself to read?! How was she doing that? Did she have a cypher?
Maybe she did….
She could read the map she had with her, he knew that much from when she told Luke about the path leading to Choral Castle, and she did refer to that map a lot, even when the party was at rest and wouldn't need it. In fact, anytime she had her books out, the map was out, too. Initially, he thought it was simply a bookmark, but maybe it was more than that. The map mentioned the names of locations and she could reverse engineer the sounds of symbols based on that, and since Elder McGovern mentioned that she knew so little about geography, it was safe to assume he gave her the map and pointed out the major cities on it, all of which were titled in Fonic symbols that could act as a rudimentary cypher. Some symbols, but not all.
Now that he thought about it, reading numbers was important for the Tartarus's radar, but how would she know the symbols for numbers if no one showed her? Elder McGovern would've assumed she could read and wouldn't find it necessary to point out all of the symbols. If that was her only reading lesson, there was no way for her to know numbers….
It very well could be true.
Raine wasn't ignorant about everything, Jade realized, just things specific to Auldrant. There were mysterious things about her, things that would be strange if she was born here but were likely perfectly normal where she came from, such as elves and her experience with prejudice, and it only now occurred to him that her accusations of prejudice ended after her breakdown in Baticul. People there were no records of. It all made sense! Why, she even mentioned mana but knew nothing of fonons or mana-to-fonon conversion, which happened even before the Sephiroth War. Nobody born in the last 4,000 years would know mana but not fonons. But if she came from somewhere that hadn't converted mana into fonons, then of course she wouldn't know anything about fonons or how to use them! At some point, she must have learned how to adjust her senses and find the frequencies for fonons, which is how she eventually learned to use them.
The only thing he couldn't figure out was where she came from exactly. How did she even get here?!
No, even that had an explanation. Raine herself had given Jade the answer: the Rheaird.
A flying machine crashed into Malkuth, but no one had said where it came from, presumably because no one knew. Yet this new theory about Raine explained why she broke down when she realized the king didn't know Sheena. Apparently, Raine had never met the king before, but Sheena definitely had. It also explained why she suddenly quit searching for Genis and focused solely on getting the Rheaird fixed, not to mention flat-out panicking at the prospect of it sinking into the mud in the Qliphoth even knowing that another flying machine, the Albiore, could be available. She wasn't interested in the Albiore at all, brushing it off that they wouldn't need a machine that big. At the time, he thought it was a strange excuse. In the face of finding a brother that she loved so much, that statement was likely to disguise the true purpose and abilities that the Rheaird had. And more than that….
Class M didn't even build her Rheaird, she admitted as much, perhaps carelessly, since they were the only ones studying flying machines. Yet, she didn't seem concerned about stealing their flying machine for a second time when she thought about asking them to repair it, which likely meant that she knew they wouldn't be angry with her for taking it. She had even said it wasn't theirs and who believed her? … Why didn't he catch on sooner?! Oh, Raine was extremely clever to manage pulling this off.
Her strange behavior wasn't explained by her being a replica. That's why she still didn't make sense, even with that assumption.
She wasn't even born on Auldrant. That explained everything!
Even Mohs's interest in her… he realized. She had been afraid of the Score all along, Guy had said so, and Jade had sensed it even before the distressed conversation after Legretta's attack at Deo Pass. The tension and panic that Raine carried ever since they rescued her from Daath suddenly made a lot more sense.
Raine's life was in serious danger.
And she knew it.
And worst of all, before long, so would the rest of the Order.
A/N: Hi, Everyone!
Yup, I cracked. I'm so excited! This chapter is my most read out of the entire book because I just love Jade's part. All it took was one final missing piece to click for him. He fully expected to find everyone in the censuses, so he wasn't too worried about solving the secret. Funny how a distraction, such as replication, can steer someone so off the correct path; otherwise, I think he would've figured it out a long time ago. I don't know when Jade actually figured out Guy's origins, but I figured now was a good time since he was looking into Raine's. And where he revealed knowledge of Guy's background in Grand Chokmah, I figured it would work. :)
So, 46 was bothering me, so I decided I'm changing up some stuff, but I'm hoping to get it done by May 5. Until then, enjoy the thrill of Jade finally figuring it out! * purrs *
Update May 4: So, I'm getting closer but I think I need one more week to make sure 46 at a shareable stage. I figured out why it's been bothering me so much and it's because it's job is to lead into 48 and it's just not believable about it yet. Thank you so much for your patience! And thank you for reading. =^-^=
Update May 16: Yeah... I know. :( I'm sorry. But I know you'd rather have a good chapter. I actually tore it up again, LOL. I think 47 might be the same way, so I'm going to give myself a generous buffer there on when I'll get it posted. The thing is, I just don't think I have Guy right, yet. He feels too forced, so I'm going to try again and see what I can do. Hang in there, I promise it'll be worth the energy and the wait. :) Stay awesome and be well!
~~Kat =^-^=