Aubrey let the moment linger after she belted the final verse, holding onto that last note until it faded into the roaring cheers of the crowd. The makeshift plaza teemed with revelers, the sound of stomping feet and hooting voices echoing off the narrow brick lanes.

Her hands drifted lightly over the guitar strings, the last strains of music rippling through the air in fading echoes. She drank in their praise, allowing it to wash over her in a tidal wave of adulation.

She dipped into a bow, letting the applause continue for several seconds longer until it petered out naturally.

A nice bonus, but the nourishment she received from feeding off their emotions during the concert was much more valuable. It left her energized and revitalized. With the size of the crowd that turned out, she probably didn't need to feed again for another few weeks.

She nodded to the others, a silent signal to wrap things up.

They took their bows and left the stage, vanishing into the shadows as the crowd slowly dispersed.

As they made their way through the twisting alleyways towards the cathedral, the buzz from the crowd wore off, leaving her alone with her thoughts. The show went well—even better than she expected. Everyone sounded great, and the crowd responded positively to their experimental songs.

"Milady Aubrey," Thaddeus spoke up suddenly, "May I inquire a question regarding thy performance?"

She glanced sideways at the automaton as they walked, wondering what he meant.

"Shoot," she answered simply.

The gears inside Thaddeus's head whirred audibly as he processed her reply. After a few seconds, the Uhallowed automaton responded. "Why art thou so enamored with these heavy, dark tunes thou write? Thou hath created such beautiful melodies previously, yet... this latest batch seems somewhat more... somber in nature."

The question surprised her.

Thaddeus's perception always impressed her. Not many could read into the emotions she put into her music, and he seemed to pick up on it every time.

She pondered her response for a moment, staring into the shadows of the night as they passed. Her crimson eyes lit the gloom ahead of them with faint light, guiding their path deeper into the darkened alleys of the Hollows.

Finally, she broke her silence.

"I've just been in the mood for a dirge recently... you know? To mourn the old days."

"Art thou not satisfied with life here, in Mordenstradt?"

"It's not that," Aubrey protested, shaking her head slightly. She ran a hand through her hair. "Life here has its own charm, and the freedom is appreciated, too. I've just been reminiscing after more of my memories returned to me. Thought the music might reflect that."

Thaddeus inclined its head. "Memories of thy time with Helena Voss, within that asylum."

Aubrey paused mid-step, a sour expression flashing across her face. "Yeah... those..."

Their short reunion played in her head once more, like a scratchy record stuck repeating on its worst track. She could have killed her, then and there. She had the chance.

Except she didn't.

Aubrey resisted, opting instead to let her leave and play the long con. Unlike with Julian, whose death she relished, she couldn't muster the same hatred for Helena. She knew why. Deep down, she understood.

As much as Aubrey hated her, that bond between them that had developed through those experiments, those lectures, those sessions of treatment, and that subtle encouragement to sing... all of it contributed to what kept her from killing her that night.

Perhaps, deep down, Aubrey wanted Helena to have her day of judgment in due time. Aubrey could wait for that...

As if he read her mind, Thaddeus changed the subject. "Do we have plans for our next outing yet?"

"Next month, we'll set up a spot in Thornhaven to perform a mini-concert. Get that side of the city hyped up," Aubrey answered with a wink and a chuckle. "In the meantime, I say we chill. Relax a little. Take it easy for a bit."

"Your vernacular grows stranger by the passing week," Cedric chimed in, breaking his usual stoic character to interject in their conversation.

Aubrey burst out laughing. "Ha! Right."

A tug on her jacket drew her attention to Liza, who sidled up to her with her head bowed low and her face obscured by her bangs.

"Um... Thornhaven is... so far away from here. Are we... even safe? That side of Mordenstradt is... more dangerous... for us. We shouldn't go there, right? Or—or... can't we try the Ironworks instead? Is that... uhm, wouldn't that be... better? Uh... please."

Aubrey grinned as Liza spoke up, enjoying her cute demeanor and quirks. She placed an arm around the girl's shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. The contact seemed to relax Liza as she settled against Aubrey, resting her head against her arm.

"Liz, honey... You know how it goes: Start with the shitty neighborhoods for our initial debut, then work our way up to the upper crust," Aubrey explained, tapping the tip of the violinist's nose with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

But Liza did make a good point.

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A trip to Thronhaven took close to an hour by riding in steam coaches or omnibuses, so walking there and back would take the better part of the entire day. Especially since the bus routes from the Ironworks to Thornhaven tended to be less convenient.

Plus, it's not like they could all take public transportation anyway, given their appearance despite being disguised. It would be too risky, with their status as Unhallowed creatures, to use it freely.

"If only I had some sort of power to make traveling easier... That would be nifty," Aubrey muttered sarcastically, feigning nonchalance while secretly hoping to give herself a prompt.

"You do," Cedric answered flatly.

"I do?!"

"Thou hast?"

Liza gazed up at Aubrey with wide eyes, curious.

Aubrey stared at Cedric, also with eyes wide. "I do?! Since when?!"

"Since always," Cedric stated as if it were obvious.

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?! Dammit, Cedric, spit it out!"

Cedric regarded her with a deadpan expression. "I apologize. I assumed you knew."

"Assumed?! What exactly am I missing here?!" she asked impatiently, stamping her foot in frustration.

A smile ghosted across Cedric's stone lips, but it vanished as soon as it came. His features settled back into their neutral expression. "We shall discuss this when we return to the cathedral."

Aubrey grumbled in annoyance but relented. "Fine..."

With that, they continued their journey home in silence, the sounds of their footsteps echoing off the walls.

----------------------------------------

When they arrived at the Cathedral of the Sovereign Incantatrix, the group paused outside, facing Cedric and waiting for him to explain. The gargoyle seemed to ignore them for a minute, merely glancing up at the moon above them. As Aubrey was about to speak, Cedric interrupted her.

"Have you ever wondered why you were so insistent with your choice to stay at the cathedral?" Cedric began, his voice low. His head swiveled to fix a steady gaze on Aubrey, who shrugged.

Aubrey blinked, surprised by the question. She'd never really given it any thought. It had just felt natural to her. "It felt right? Uhm... I like the aesthetic vibe of the gothic style? Besides, what other options did I have?"

"With your appearance, you could have attempted to blend in elsewhere. Even found a way into the high society to live lavishly," Cedric offered, gesturing toward her outfit. "Yet, you decided to stay in The Hollows. Why presume the cathedral would suffice?"

"Well..." Aubrey hesitated, struggling to find the words. "Honestly, I'd like to know that myself, actually. It felt right at the time, yeah. I guess it seemed kinda fun, even back then? Like... why not, y'know? My gut told me this was a good place to start, I guess."

"And what of your intuition now?"

She frowned at the question.

What of it? This place was her new home. It had served them well so far, providing sanctuary from prying eyes and hunters like Seraphine. Her instincts had proven true to some degree, she reasoned. So why doubt them now?

"Why the twenty questions, Cedric? What's your point?" she asked, growing suspicious. He usually didn't beat around the bush. "Just spit it out and stop playing dumb."

The gargoyle chuckled. "Apologies. It seemed a logical enough jump. Perhaps I should have been more direct. No matter. In short: You are the chosen of this cathedral."

She stared blankly at him. "Excuse me, what?"

"You are the master of this structure," Cedric repeated, slowly enunciating each word. "A disciple of the Sovereign Incantatrix. Being able to wield Hellion's Cry is the ultimate indication that the goddess favors you. Your decision to dwell here is proof. I suspected as much after our battle, and the truth has only become clearer over time."

His eyes gleamed with pride as he spoke, the fervent tone in his voice taking her aback.

Aubrey squirmed under the weight of his praise, unused to such adoration directed her way. It unsettled her more than she cared to admit.

She shook her head. Her expression remained flat. "Cedric, buddy, pal, ol' chum o' mine, what in the living fuck are you talking about? Can we back up a second and review? Disciple of whatnow? Hold the phone, time out. Stop. Reverse. Press '1.'"

"Disciple of the Sovereign Incantatrix. I had mentioned it to you briefly during that fateful encounter, do you not recall?" Cedric replied, sounding genuinely surprised at her confusion.

Aubrey narrowed her eyes, trying to remember. Did he? Her mind spun as she tried to process this information.

Maybe in the back of her mind, she'd subconsciously picked up on the concept before, but she associated the word 'sovereign' with the coins used in Mordenstradt.

She hadn't really paid the religious side of things much attention, despite having lived in the cathedral for months now. A strange sense of guilt wormed its way into her brain, which she promptly shoved aside in favor of curiosity.

Curious, Aubrey questioned further, prodding at the revelation as if it were a loose tooth. "So... I'm like... a follower of the Incantatrix? Alright. Cool, cool, cool. How does that translate to being a disciple? Isn't a disciple someone like... devoted to the teachings of another or something? Don't think we've covered any 'teachings' yet, Cedric."

"Not quite," Cedric countered gently, raising one hand to punctuate his next sentence. "More akin to the role of an apostle to a god, in your context. Though, perhaps it would help if I explain a little more of the history around the Incantatrix, as you call her..."

"O-Oh... Sure, why not?" Aubrey agreed, despite still trying to wrap her mind around it all. "But before you start on that, can you get to the part where you said I can 'travel easily?'"

Cedric gave her a curt nod. "This cathedral acts as your haven—your base of power and safety. Beyond that, it serves another function. While it originally was constructed within what is now Gallows Row, it also exists as a parallel realm unto itself, linked to wherever else in Mordenstradt you may wish to venture."

Aubrey's jaw fell open. "Woah, is this place like a hub?"

"Indeed. Think of it thusly: Should you desire, you can travel directly from the cathedral to anywhere within this city through the mist that surrounds it. All you must do is set your destination within your mind and walk beyond the fog. Then, you will enter whatever other section you desire."

"So it works as a sort of teleportation... Portal thing. Oh man, that's so freaking cool!"

"You can also return to the cathedral the same way," Cedric added, a hint of amusement evident in his tone. "Just will it, and when the mists take hold of you, you may bid them to return you here."

Aubrey turned excitedly to Liza and Thaddeus. "You guys hearing this?! Sounds legit, right? Right?! Holy crap!"

"Verily," Thaddeus mused with interest. "That... would certainly prove expedient indeed."

"U-Um... Yeah? Sounds neat, at least...?" Liza replied, uncertain. Her tone shifted from inquisitive to questioning halfway through, causing Aubrey to laugh.

The idea excited her. Anything to cut down travel time and exposure in a city this big. It would drastically lower their risk of getting spotted by Hunters or constabularies, too. Best of all, if she ever gets chased again, she could just escape through the mists and loop back to the cathedral. A double win in terms of safety!

She mentally filed away that knowledge for later. Just knowing it would be available made her feel safer already.

"I can take other people with me, right? Not just myself?" Aubrey asked, turning back to Cedric.

"Yes. You can bring whomever you wish with you, so long as they remain close to you when traversing the mist."

Aubrey shot him a toothy grin. "Hell yeah. This changes so much. Wow!"

Liza edged closer to Aubrey, tucking a stray strand of raven hair behind her ear. "Does that mean... we still be going to Thornhaven? You won't change your mind?"

"Yep," she replied, popping the 'p.' "Still on for that plan. Now more than ever!"