After breakfast was concluded, Gideon and Surelin left Edea’s estate via the abandoned villa next door, stepping out into the street beyond. They followed muddy footpaths along the street that others had taken through the snow, and before long they were on the market street.

They’d both borrowed warmer clothing. Surelin wore a white hooded cloak over a gray sweater, along with gray mittens and a scarf, all of it donated by Edea. For Gideon, Edea had somehow come up with a thick brown overcoat in his exact size, along with a black cap and a pair of black fabric gloves. Even with his new clothing, it was still bitterly cold outside, and he felt his overcoat becoming damp at the shoulders from the falling snow.

A similar stream of people from the day before traveled up and down the market street, the only difference being most of them now wore coats or heavy parkas as they moved about. The weather had had no effect on the city’s normal bustle. The masses of moving feet seemed to be preventing the snow from piling on the muddy street.

The Black Alps was located on the north side of Loso’s main strip, close to the west gate. Most of Loso’s popular taverns were located in the merchant quarter, but a few had managed to establish themselves along the strip by targeting the caravanners arriving from Kenan or the Eastern Kingdoms. The Elysium Hills in the north-east portion of the city also contained a handful of well-known taverns, but those exclusively served nobility. Gideon had never visited the Black Alps himself, but he’d heard about it many times in passing and knew exactly where it was.

Surelin seemed lost in thought as they traveled side by side along the market street. She was quiet as she walked, paying little attention to her surroundings.

“Want to hear a joke?” Gideon asked.

Slowly, she looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What does a storm cloud wear under its raincoat?”

Her eyes rolled. “What?”

“Thunderwear.”

A small smile appeared on her face as she looked away. “...That is quite possibly the worst joke I’ve ever heard.”

“Sorry," he said, laughing. "You just seemed really quiet.”

“Mmm.”

“You can just leave,” he said suddenly. “If you want. You do have options, here. Just saying.”

She glanced at him. “This is where I want to be. I hope you’ll support me.”

"...Yeah, of course I will.”

Even if I think what you’re doing is bound to make you miserable.

They made the rest of the walk in silence. Gideon was lost in thought, and looked up with surprise once the market street had emptied them out onto the strip.

The west gate stood roughly a hundred yards off to their left. Large and proudly decorated with the banners of the great houses, its arched opening was guarded by a great many mounted and dismounted stone-faced hussars. They held their ceremonial spears with the tips pointing up to the sky as they dutifully stopped and inspected every traveler attempting to enter or leave. Above them, more hussars idled atop the walls and the gate house, bows in hand.

Surelin gave Gideon an expectant look, and he led her hurriedly across the strip’s muddy road towards the buildings on the north side. The strip itself was wide enough to fit ten wagons side by side, and the activity upon it made the bustle on the market street seem paltry in comparison. It was chock full of wagons and carts, and pedestrians navigating around them. When Gideon looked to his right, he saw a traffic jam atop the Fabresco bridge off in the distance.

He narrowly dodged a speeding cart and shot an angry look at the driver, who ignored him.

“Is that a bridge over there?” Surelin asked.

Gideon nodded, weaving past a group of pedestrians walking in the opposite direction.

“Yep, that’s the Fabresco bridge. The biggest one in the city.”

“I see…I didn’t know Loso had a river.”

“Ha, yeah. The Silver River is a river in name only. It’s more like a stream. The water is fairly clean up here on the north side, but further down it gets putrid.”

“Oh….”

He glanced back at her, and she made eye contact with him.

I should show her around the city at some point, he thought. Loso isn’t Kenan. There’s some fun to be found here.

They managed to reach the sidewalk on the far side of the strip without being run over, and Gideon immediately set off to the east. The buildings on the north side were a motley mix of expansive stables, simple gathering halls, and grandiose mansions, along with the occasional tavern. After less than five minutes of walking they stood before a fairly typical two story tavern, with a plaque beside its oak wood door reading: ‘The Black Alps’.

The Black Alps had two tall and wide windows set side by side at the front door, with faint images of jagged mountains etched into the glass. Gideon could easily see inside from their spot on the sidewalk. The bar was filled with round wooden tables with chairs set atop them, presumably to make sweeping the floor easier. On the tavern’s far wall across from him, a wooden stairwell led up to the second floor, blocked by a small swinging gate. Off to his right lay the bar itself, with a small half-constructed pyramid of white clay mugs meticulously piled atop it. Behind the bar sat a wall-mounted rack filled to the brim with colorful eye-catching bottles. In the space between the bar and the rack, an oddly familiar looking Losoan man with dark brown hair was drying mugs with a rag, adding them one at a time to the pyramid.

A booth had been set up in the far corner next to the bar, and Gideon instantly rolled his eyes when he spotted Kara in it. She was sitting in the lap of a ruggedly handsome black-haired Losoan man.

Kara spotted Gideon and Surelin standing on the sidewalk outside and smiled, eagerly waving them inside. Surelin shot Gideon an amused smile before opening the door. The moment she did, the Losoan behind the counter set the mug in his hand down and screamed in their direction.

“We’re fucking closed!!! It’s three hours before noon, for Kali’s sake!”

“Quit yer hollering!” Kara bellowed, causing the man whose lap she was sitting on to wince. “They’re my fucking friends, Lee! I asked them to come see me!”

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Lee seemed entirely unimpressed. “I don’t want any more of your hoodlum caravan rats coming around here anymore, Kara. Not after last night.”

“Good morning…?” Surelin asked with a questioning lilt.

Kara grinned and hooked one arm behind the man’s neck, beckoning them over again with her free hand.

“Hi, you two! Come sit next to me, sur-sur.”

Lee shook his head with a deep frown, and resumed his work on the mugs as Gideon and Surelin walked between the tables towards Kara’s booth. After sitting down beside her, Surelin peered at the Losoan's face for a moment then shot another amused smile at Gideon. The man was quite good looking.

“Guess you had a decent night,” Gideon said, smirking.

“What? I’m not allowed to have some fun after four months on the road?” Kara replied defensively. “Gideon, Surelin, this is Giorno. Say hello Giorno.”

“Hello,” he said smoothly.

“We met last night,” she smiled at him. “What is it you do, again?”

“I’m a cook.”

Surelin was smiling, too. “A cook? I see. You have an, um…interesting taste in men, Kara.”

“Oh don’t laugh, sweetie. You’ve had a handsome giant following you around like a lovesick puppy for the last four months.”

A blush instantly spread across Surelin's face, and she covered it with her hands. Gideon leveled an annoyed frown on Kara as she began to laugh gaily.

“Whoops! Sorry, that may have been a bit much. I might still be drunk.”

“You certainly are,” said Giorno.

Surelin suddenly whipped her head towards Gideon, eyes brimming with tears.

“You say something to her, for Kali’s sake! Deny it!”

He looked between the three of them mildly before his gaze settled on Kara.

“I’m not a puppy. I’m more like…a wolf.”

Kara laughed uproariously as Surelin covered her face once again, shrinking in her seat.

“No, you’re definitely a puppy,” Kara laughed. “Just look at those big dopey black eyes.”

“I think he's a wolf, too,” Giorno said.

Gideon looked at him. “Thank you, Biorno.”

“My name is Giorno.”

“Whatever,” Gideon said, then turned a triumphant smirk on Kara.

“Uh-huh,” Kara said, smiling as she stood up off Giorno’s lap. “Move over. I want to sit next to sur-sur.”

With a casual shrug, Giorno scooted over. Kara occupied his old spot and rested a hand on Surelin’s shoulder.

“Don’t be upset, sweetie. I was just teasing you.”

“I can’t look at either of you ever again,” Surelin groaned between her hands.

Kara giggled. “Oh dear. I’ve upset the princess. I know…!”

She stood back up and walked around Surelin with a slight wobble, coming to a stop in front of Gideon.

“Look up, sweetie.”

Surelin did, and Kara suddenly collapsed onto Gideon. He was alarmed at first and tried to catch her fall, but then gave her an angry frown as she grabbed onto both of his shoulders, smirking. There was a dramatic flair in her voice.

“No, Gideon! I know how earnestly you’ve pined for me, but I simply can’t be with you! You’re just…just too much man for me! I just can’t handle your overwhelming manliness! I’m not woman enough to deal with such a masculine man!”

“Get the fuck—” Gideon pushed her off his lap. Kara managed to land on her feet, laughing.

A surprised scoff left Giorno as Kara returned to her seat. Surelin had been stunned at first, but then let out some surprised laughter as Kara sat down next to her, grinning.

“That was fucked up,” Gideon said angrily. His face was burning.

Surelin smiled with glee as she scanned his face, then turned to Kara.

“I’ve never seen him this upset! Amazing. Madame Falton would’ve been proud.”

“Hm! I thought it would only be fair to embarrass him, too.”

“What the living fuck was that nonsense I just heard?” Lee called out from behind the bar.

“Quiet, you!” Kara shouted back. “And bring us something to drink!”

“You’re out of control,” Gideon accused her.

She shrugged indifferently, and watched as Lee brought over a half-full bottle of whiskey and some shot glasses, an annoyed scowl stretched across his face.

“That’s your last free bottle, freeloader,” he said, storming off back towards the bar. Kara gave Surelin a knowing smile as she uncorked the bottle and filled up a glass.

“My brother says that as if I weren’t the woman bringing in all the business which keeps him wealthy,” she said.

“I heard that, that’s only partially true!”

Gideon rubbed his face, sighing.

“So, what? You asked us over here just to fuck around?”

Kara gulped down her drink. “...No, of course not! I want to talk to you about investing.”

Surelin shot her a quizzical look. “What?”

“I’m looking for new ways to make money. I don’t want to run caravans for the rest of my life. You’re looking at the owner of the first independent bank in Western Lothringia!”

“A bank…?" Gideon asked, confused. "Isn’t that something the priests do?”

“Yes, but I’m getting into the business anyway,” Kara smiled. “And I want to fund your activities.”

Surelin blinked rapidly. “...What activities?”

“Oh, please. Do you think I was born yesterday? I’ll admit I have no idea about the specifics, but whatever you’re going to do will take money. And since we’re friends, I want you to make me your primary preferred investor. Honest types like you are a guaranteed return on investment.”

Surelin looked over at Gideon. He simply rolled his eyes.

“...I’ll think about it,” she said, turning back to Kara.

Kara smiled. “Please do. Trust me, I have more than enough cash saved up. Now, I think it’s time for a bath.”

She stood up, and after taking a few unsteady steps towards the stairwell turned back to beckon Giorno.

“What are you doing? That’s your cue.”

He instantly jumped to his feet and followed her.

Gideon watched them enter the stairwell with an apoplectic expression, and scoffed after they’d disappeared behind the swinging gate.

“She didn’t even ask you where you were staying.”

“Yes, but she seemed happy.”

Surelin was smiling in the direction of the stairwell when he looked over at her.

“Yeah, she did,” he said.

She settled back in her seat and looked over at him. “Well, that was a much shorter meeting than I expected.”

He nodded. “Hey, explain something to me.”

“Okay...?”

“Why is your grandma doing all this? We haven’t been here a full day yet but she’s inserting you into all these schemes. What gives?”

Surelin opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it and looked over at the tables, scanning them.

“...Are you asking why she is including me in her plans? Or are you asking about her in a general sense?”

“Both, I guess.”

She was quiet for a little while, thinking.

“I think she’s been desperate. Since before the war even began, but now especially. They’ve been under siege here this whole time, it seems.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. Their morale seemed really low yesterday. Celaena was dumbfounded when she saw you. Plus those soldiers half-asleep on guard, and the way everyone crowded around to get a look at you. And Len was shocked to tears.”

“Grandmother said the same thing, more or less,” Surelin said, looking back at him.

A concerned frown spread across Gideon’s face. “...Hm.”

“As for the second part of your question…she’s always been this way. The courtiers called her the Gray Eminence. When I was a child, I think she wanted me to be more like her, but all I wanted to do was read or go play in the garden.”

“Did you ever want to be queen?”

Surprise appeared on her face. “No, never. As a girl all I cared about was adventures.”

“You don’t feel used at all? I think she’s using you.”

Disquiet seemed to fall over her. “...No, I don’t feel that way. But…”

“I dunno, maybe she’s not that cynical,” Gideon said. “But I do think she’s pushing you to be this…heroic person.”

She frowned at him. “Well, maybe my people could use a hero right now.”

He shook his head and looked away.

“That’s bullshit,” he said under his breath.

Genuine anger appeared in her voice. “Excuse me? What did you just say?”

“All that stuff is bullshit,” he said. “Noble heroes and evil villains, it’s all crap. Life isn’t like that. It's just a big lie to keep people under control. Believing that shit makes them feel more secure, so they buy into it.”

She was quiet for a long time, glaring at him. He stared back at her in stubborn silence for quite a while, but eventually accepted that he’d gone too far.

“...Alright, maybe that’s not completely true. I take it back. You're right, your people could definitely use a hero right now.”

A deep sigh left her, and she nodded once, quickly.

“Maybe there’s some truth to what you just said. But the suffering my people are going through is very real. It’s beneath you to begrudge them any solace.”

He nodded slowly, chastened. “...Yeah. Sorry.”

“You’ve already helped me so much. And I’m sorry to say this, but I still need more from you. Grandmother, Len, all of them, they don’t understand what happened to me. They can’t.”

She shook her head. “You’re my best friend, Gideon. Please support me.”

Gideon was taken aback.

“Yeah, sure,” he muttered.

He looked away from her and stared out the window at the people passing by along the sidewalk.

Best friends?

The thought bothered him, and he couldn't explain to himself why.