The room slowly but surely started to lose its cold moonlight appearance as the sun began to bring a warming orange glow. The seemingly cold and empty room started to feel more comforting as time went by. My eyes, never having closed for the last few hours, I decided that I should just get out of bed and see how far my body would get me today.

The clothes from last night were still neatly folded on the desk and after some deliberating, I chose to wear something more casual today. The day to come would be hard enough, so I better just get comfortable.

I reached into my closet and picked a black off-shoulder top that was loose fitting and went down just under my stomach. I then took out a red pleated skirt that reached down to my ankles.

I guess nobody will mind me being casual today.

By the time I stepped out of the room, the sun had illuminated it thoroughly now. The warm orange glow shone through the frosted glass windows that lined 1 wall of my room. The hallway was not as brightly lit, but the doors to the empty rooms were open. This allowed the sunlight to escape the confines of the rooms and brighten the hallway a bit and make it look more inviting.

When I reached the main lobby I was greeted by Thalia, who apparently also woke up early. Not so much out of necessity but more out of habit.

“Hey, good morning Amber.” She did a small wave with a much happier face than she had when I saw her just a few hours before.

“Did you get a bit of rest? You looked tired when I left. Though I see not much has changed on that front” She said with a slight hint of worry in her voice.

I shook my head and Thalia’s face lost its smile.

“Oh no, it wasn’t…”

“No,” I cut her off. “It wasn't your fault. Don’t worry about it. I was happy that you came to me. It’s just…” I paused for a few seconds trying to find the words for what I was feeling.

Shit, my head is too tired to even say anything coherent.

“It’s just… so much happened and my mind just kept racing through it all, over and over.” As I said that a yawn erupted from me and I rubbed my eyes as the eyelids felt as if stones were hanging from them.

“Hey, Amber”

My body tensed and my heart sped up in alarm when I heard my name and instantly recognized the voice that called it.

“G-good morning, Zeph.” I turned around, feeling my heartbeat relax a little but not returning to near any normal levels. Out of reflex, I fumbled with my hair to get it straightened out a little and hopefully look more presentable.

“You seem like you didn’t get any sleep last night. Are you ok?” Zeph looked a bit worried as he patiently awaited my reply.

I could hardly deny the truth of what he said; fighting it would be useless, so I better just give in to it. A sigh left me as my body relaxed and my shoulders dropped after a deep breath.

“Yeah, all the events from last night, especially about Zephyria, kept going through my head. I couldn’t catch any sleep at all.”

“Then I suggest we have a quick breakfast together and afterward, you go back to bed. Maybe I can help you with a sleeping potion?” Lucian suggested.

The idea wasn’t bad. I could hardly keep myself upright at the moment. That sleeping potion might help me get my head to cool down. With a smile and a nod I accepted the idea and we all made our way to the kitchen.

Then the doorbell rang and Thalia came out of the living room to open the door. As the door opened I could only hear some murmuring from the back of the main lobby. They were talking too softly for me to hear anything.

“Lady Amber, could you come over here, please? There is a man here that is asking for you.” Thalia moved away from the door as she opened it fully.

There was a man standing in the door opening that I had never seen before. He was rather tall and had a somewhat slim body type. He wore a long coat with an emblem on it that I had seen somewhere before. He had a short beard and mustache that made him look kinda handsome.

Confused, I stared at him, walking towards the door with some reservations trying to find any ill intentions.

“Can I help you?”

Suddenly Lucian ran to the door like he was excited to see this man again.

“Jack!” Lucian called out enthusiastically. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey Lucian, good to see you. And Zeph is here as well. Looks like we didn’t have to worry so much.” He looked pleased as he started looking around the room, as if searching for something or someone.

“Say, where is Zephyria? I don’t see her anywhere.”

Zeph’s face revealed a hint of worry and sadness as he started to give Jack a short recap of what happened.

“Zeph, Lucian, you know this man? Care to introduce me?” I said with a smirk on my face that revealed a certain amount of annoyance about being left out right now.

Lucian, suddenly aware that I had never met this man, apologized and started his introduction

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“This is Jack Lightward. He is from Birchbridge where he serves as the Luminary there. He often travels out to Alora and Stonebridge to get medicine that are unavailable in his town.” Lucian was glowing. He was happy as can be to see an old acquaintance and good friend.

“Nice to meet you. You must be Amber Ikthiosh, right?” he made a small bow.

“Yes, that is correct. Only daughter of Bordin and Uzi Ikthiosh. It is a pleasure to meet you.” I gave a small bow back and made way for Jack to enter.

“Why don’t you come inside? We can sit down in the living room.” I gestured for him to enter.

“Thank you. There is something I wanted to discuss— nothing serious, just to set some minds at ease.”

—

“Here we go.” Lucian put down the serving plate with cups of tea that he made using some herbs he still had.

“I made this tea with Serenleaf. It is an herb that can be found in the mountains above Birchridge and helps to calm the mind.”

“Thank you Lucian. Seems like the trip here has done you well, hasn’t it?” He smiled as he took a small sip of the tea. “You look a lot more confident. That’s good to see. And the tea tastes wonderful.”

Lucian had a shy laugh as he acknowledged that the journey so far indeed had a considerable impact. Though some parts he might rather forget.

“Yeah, it has been eventful, to say the least.” He laughed it off as Lucian and Zeph started to talk about all that happened since they left Birchbridge. Inevitably the topic of the disappearance of Zephyria was reached and the mood changed from reminiscing to a more serious tone.

Jack leaned forward with eyes wide open in shock of what he just heard.

“You mean the defense of the vault teleported everybody that was in the line of sight to somewhere else?” his voice was audibly distressed.

Hearing how they met and what they had been through earlier, I understood his shock upon hearing of her situation.

“Yes, I don’t really understand what happened either but it seems my parents knew something could happen, but it seems my parents anticipated trouble and used some measure to protect the vault. I didn’t even know it was locked this way, let alone what would happen if you broke the lock.”

Looking down, I began to blame myself for what happened.

“Don’t blame yourself Amber.” Zeph put a comforting hand on my shoulder which made me look up at him.

“I know, but still. After all these years you would think I know the ins and outs of this place. Especially after all my research I did on my father’s trips.”

“Well, you didn't know this would happen; So that’s the end of it.” A firm but friendly voice gave me a sense of relief as Zeph continued talking about what happened.

“Hmmm, if you can still sense her to some degree and you even felt that she is ok at the moment, maybe you could try to give her a sense of direction.”

“What do you mean Jack?” Zeph said as Jack caught his full attention now.

“What is a place that, if you would feel anything for it, would immediately come to mind?”

Zeph was lost in thought for a moment. Tapping him on the shoulder, he looked at me with a questioning look.

“What about Ignisara?” I said softly. “Didn’t you tell me the day after we arrived here that you felt a strong sense to return there sometime?” A yawn broke as I finished.

“Good point Amber.” He turned back to face Jack. “We always heard the stories about our homeland and felt like we should go see our family. Even if they don’t want to see us.”

“Well, then try that!” With confidence and a smile to back it up, he let himself fall back into the chair.

“What do you mean?” Zeph asked, leaning back into the couch.

“Think of returning home to Ignisara. If she can pick up the feeling of it and still remembers it just like you do, she will know where to go.”

While the conversation continued my eyes became heavier and heavier. The tea seemingly had its calming effect amplified by my tiredness. My head started to feel heavy and while the conversation moved on my eyes closed and everything went dark.

—

The sudden weight of Amber's body leaning against me abruptly stopped the conversation I had with Jack. Looking to my right, I saw Amber leaning against me with her head on my shoulder. Looking closer I saw that she was sound asleep. The sensation of her leaning into me caught me by surprise. I noticed the slow breaths she was taking and how warm she was.

Meanwhile, Jack stood up and got ready to leave.

“She was really tired, wasn’t she? Guess that is my cue to finish up my own business.

I will be sleeping at the inn at the central square and will drop by again tomorrow.” He spoke in a whispering tone, carrying a constant smile on his face.

“You know, you two look like a great couple. Take care of her, you hear.”

Before I could respond, he left the room as I contemplated going after him. My movement shifted my position a little, moving me a bit down into the couch causing Amber’s head to now lay on top of my shoulder.

Suddenly I noticed Lucian, who was still next to me, smile and got up.

“I will get the cups to the kitchen. You just stay there. She needs the rest and you do too.”

Softly he put the cups on the serving plate and walked out the door to the kitchen. As he did this, Thalia came and saw us sitting there together. She smiled while her eyes filled with tears. She quickly bolted for the door without saying a word.

What is going on? How did this happen?

Though my thoughts were everywhere, I noticed I did not dislike the current situation.

Might as well take a nap myself. The impact of last night took more of a toll than I thought.

Here I was, in the living room, alone with Amber sleeping on my shoulder.

Is this how that feels? Could I … I mean, she is cute.

I softly laughed at the thought. This made Amber shift a little and made me even more aware of her.

Calm down Zeph.

My mind was conflicted. On one side I was worried about my sister, the other wanted to enjoy the moment.

Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on my breathing. It didn’t take long before I noticed my breathing slowly synced up with Amber’s and after being hyperware of Amber being so close my mind shut down as well.

Just before everything went dark, one final thought shot through my mind.

Lucian, you prick. You did this on purpose didn’t you?