**ACHOO**

Siyu lets out a loud sneeze and sits up on his bed.

Which beauty is thinking of me? Siyu asks himself before looking out of the window. It looked as if the sun was about to rise so he removes his blankets and gets out of bed to stretch.

He opens the door to his room and walks down the hall to the living room.

“Oh, you’re awake,” the apparition, Zohr, says, floating above an armchair. “Hey, make me some coffee grounds will you? Although I can’t drink it, it’s a nice smell to welcome the day. And when are we going to look for a nice body for me to take over? All we’ve been doing is relaxing in this cottage for the last month.”

“Sure, sure,” Siyu says, half-awake, amidst a hazy morning peace, moving into the kitchen to light a fire under the stove. After a fire was lit, he puts some coffee grounds into a pot before adding water and leaving the pot on the stove.

With that done, he goes over to a large bag with a bowl and pours some dried food into it. He walks to the front door and calls out, “Sunshine! Sunshine, come get your breakfast!”

A figure weaves through some distant trees and arrives before Siyu, a small and blood-covered rabbit in its mouth.

“Watcha got there?” He asks as he bends over. “Another dastardly rabbit walking into your territory? How dare they?” He says, petting the dog with his hand. “Alright, hand it over. I’ll cook it up for you since you managed to catch it. No need to eat it raw like an animal,” He says, receiving the bloody rabbit in his hand before moving to bring the rabbit and the dried food inside.

But suddenly, he stops, watching as a figure approaches from the distance. As the figure gets closer, he waves. Siyu could recognize the figure and his eyes widen in shock, dropping the rabbit on the ground.

“Fuck! What’s he doing here? Come on, Sunshine. Come inside; let’s go!” He says anxiously.

Sunshine barks a few times before running inside the cottage while Siyu follows behind.

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“Oy, Zohr, get back in the ring; we have to hide,” He says, moving to the curtains to pull them close.

Zohr gives him a strange look before turning into a wisp and going back into the ring.

Siyu moves to the kitchen to crouch down. Shit, shit, I hope he doesn’t see me, he thinks, dread in his heart.

A few moments later a knock resounds from the front door.

Another few moments later a couple more knocks resound from the front door.

“Siyu, I know you’re in there; open up!” A voice calls out from outside.

“Fuck,” Siyu says, knowing that he's been caught. He walks over to the door and opens it, to be greeted by an old acquaintance, a smiling Articus.

“Siyu, my boy!” He says, arms raised as if he was expecting a hug.

Siyu gives him a blank stare before closing his eyes and attempting to rub the frustration from them with his hand. “What are you doing here?” He asks, annoyance apparent in his voice.

“You know how things work in Charlun; it’s an alliance of provinces bound by a contract. The provincial leaders are essentially kings, and this province has asked me to help them reform some of their administrative policies. But instead of that, my dear, Siyu, what are you doing in Charlun?” Articus says, a sly grin on his face.

Siyu gives a bitter smile, and attempts to bullshit his way out of this; “As you know, I was assigned to work with Sir Frey, but unfortunately I was forced against my will to work on a separate undercover mission in Charlun, but as I journeyed to my destination we were attacked! By bandits! I bravely fought them off, and barely managed to escape with my life! Fortunately, when I was looking for a safe haven I managed to buy this cottage and settle down to recuperate from my injuries,” He explains, his expression changing to match the heroism he attempted to describe.

“Ho ho, Siyu, my boy, how unfortunate. You must have been severely injured for you to think about purchasing a whole cottage, filling it with furniture, and decorating it. You were even so injured you planted a garden outside and bought a dog,” Articus says with feigned empathy.

“Sunshine isn’t mine; he’s a wild dog that wanders the area,” He says absent-mindedly, preparing to resign himself to his fate.

Articus chuckles and says, “Siyu, my boy, aren’t you going to invite me in?”

Siyu sighs and gestures for Articus to come in. “Please,” He says, the weight of courtesy causing him to tire.

Articus walks into the house, looks around, and walks over to the couch to have a seat. Siyu follows and sits on an adjacent couch.

“Siyu, I was curious; how exactly did you manage to get assigned to a separate mission from Sir Frey?” Articus asks, moving a leg over another to get more comfortable.

Siyu laughs and says, “It must have been some sort of error. Frey was unable to continue the mission so he went back to the base, but before someone could relieve me of my duties, I had already departed for Charlun. It was very unfortunate.” He says before slowing down and taking a breath, deciding to give up this charade. He looks to Articus and asks, “How did you find me?”

“I was assisting the province with their census when I noticed that there was an unusual number of marriages during the past month, the surrounding villages were making more income, and the crime rate has slowed down. I naturally thought of only one person,” Articus says before continuing in a more serious tone, “You should know your next step. Right, Siyu?”

Siyu sighs and leans back, “Can’t you just ignore it, Articus? No one has to know.”

Articus chuckles and says, “You know how it works, Siyu. It will be two or three months before the King notices you’re missing; then I’ll have to make a big show of how I searched high and low for you before finally finding you in Charlun. You can run, but I imagine you’ll be tracked down before long.”

Articus then leans back and rests his arms by his side before asking, “And what about our little organization in the city of Starr? You should come back once in a while to check up on it. But I can tell you that it’s flourishing. Organized demons; who knew it could work out so well.”

Siyu looks to Sunshine who was resting on the carpet before sighing and closing his eyes. I was hoping to rest a little longer…