Mila stares at Glyn as he tries to divert his eyes. She continues to meet his gaze unflinchingly as he struggles to look away. She grabs his face and stares at him as he sighs and nods. She lets go and Glyn sits down in his chair with Mila sitting on the bed, continuing to stare.

The two sit in silence as Glyn smiles at her.

“Mila. What do I owe tonight’s visit?”

“You’re acting strangely and I hate it.”

Glyn sighs. “I admit I’m stressed. But this is a stressful situation. Once I figure out a plan here, I’ll be able to calm down and I promise things will go back to normal.”

She shakes her head. “No, there’s something else here. Something else that feels weird. You're acting weird, deflecting and looking away whenever we talk. And trying so hard to keep secrets.”

“Come on, I was honest with you last night, wasn’t I?”

Tisha enters the room. “You were honest, but only on a surface level. You’re still hiding things and it’s interfering with your judgment right now.”

“Tisha?” Mila asks.

“I finished up, and I saw you coming up here. I figured I’d wait outside in case you needed me.” She says with a smile.

Mila smiles back. “Thanks.”

“You did well pushing yourself so hard to say it,” Tisha says.

Glyn sighs. “Great, am I being tag teamed now? It was hard enough to get you off my back last night. If this is going to be an every night thing, it’d get annoying after a while.”

“If you just open up, then we’d get this over with,” Tisha says with Mila nodding behind her.

“I don’t want to talk about it. It’s not important right now. What’s important is working to keep the island safe. I can’t drag innocent people into my issues.”

“Then what are we?” Mila asks. “If you don’t talk to us, then what are we? Are we bystanders, pawns, or your friends? What?”

Glyn shakes his head. “I wanted to go into this as friends. I hate thinking of others as pawns, and if we’re going to fight together, there should be some trust between us.”

“If you see your friend in distress, do you turn away just because they tell you to?”

Glyn laughs. “Turning my own words against me?”

Tisha scowls down at Glyn. “Stop trying to be clever and answer the question.”

“Fine. I’m the nosey type, so it’d annoy me to see my friends in distress and then being told to ignore their pain. I know that’s hypocritical. But I’d rather not have anyone involved. I can solve this myself; I Just need more time.”

“That’s not fair!” Mila yells out, shooting up from the bed. “You want to carry our burdens, but you won’t let anyone help you when it counts. I don’t like that.”

Tisha nods. “It is pretty asinine to be so rigid when you have so many people willing to reach out to you.”

“Even if you don’t tell me now, I’ll keep asking. I’ll come every night until you tell me, and I won’t let you sleep peacefully until you confide in me.” Mila says.

Tisha smirks. “You have to respect her determination. I’ll join her. Who knows what you’ll do if we leave you two alone?”

Glyn sighs. “Such troublesome women.”

“I’ll keep being trouble until you open up to me,” Mila says.

“I guess I should be thankful that you care at least that much about me.” He turns away from the pair. “Fine. I’ll confess, truthfully, this time.”

Tisha joins Mila on the bed. “Good. Now fess up.”

“Please,” Mila says.

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“As you both know, I am the bastard of House Mattox, but there’s more to that.”

“I found it strange that the first-born son of the house, even if he is the second wife’s son, is considered a bastard,” Tisha says.

“Yeah. The circumstances of my birth are strange. Because my father, the lord of house Mattox, might not be my blood father.” Glyn turns around, staring at the pair. “It’s likely that Count Fenwick is.”

“What?” They ask in unison.

“That would mean you're fighting your brother,” Mila says.

Tisha lowers her head. “How did that happen? Explain it now!”

“You seem infuriated.”

“You’re a half-elf. If you’re also that man’s son, then that means…. That means it’s likely a crime occurred.”

“A crime?”

Tisha nods. “There are rumors. Rumors are so bad they’ve even reached us Elves. The current Count of House Fenwick is a notorious womanizer who’s spread bastards across the continent. I’ve heard he buys and sells women as he pleases and even commits notorious crimes.”

“He sounds like an awful man.”

Glyn shakes his head. “And he might be my dear father.”

“How?” Tisha asks.

“My Mother was an Elf selected to join in and go to the royal academy thanks to her knowledge of magic and potions. She studied and worked hard to stand among her noble peers who looked down on her.” He shakes his head. “It’s there at the academy that she met the at the time heir of House Mattox and his future bride.”

“Your father and mothers went to school together?” Mila asks.

“Yeah. It’d be a cute love story if it wasn’t for the ending. Mother grew close to both of them and fell in love with the young noble. Sadly, he was engaged and very much in love with his wife-to-be. But she also loved the fiancé as her dearest friend and, as such, suffered in silence to maintain their happiness.”

“Sounds like a bunch of people who don’t dare to act on their feelings,” Tisha says.

Mila nods. “But I can agree. If I loved someone who loved someone else, I would feel pain, but I wouldn’t want to hurt them even if it hurt myself.”

“That was my mother’s thoughts at the time. But as the group grew close to graduation, they invited my mother to a royal ball. There the three had a fun time but at some point, my Mother was separated from her friends in an unknown environment.”

“And that’s when the Count stepped in,” Tisha says.

Glyn nods. “Yes. The count laid his hands on my mother and my father came in just to see the aftermath. He felt, but the Count is too powerful to touch, so it’s a crime he can commit in broad daylight with no one able to touch him.”

“So horrible,” Mila says.

“If we knew about it, then we Elves could’ve….”

“If the elves tried to kill the Count, then they’d be wiped out. The homeland would be burned and the Elves would be extinct.”

“What? He’s that powerful?”

“His family is second to the king, and he, in particular, has worked hard to ensure he gained as much power as possible to prevent anything from hurting his lands and family,” Glyn says.

Mila stands and rushes to Glyn’s side, hugging him. “I don’t know my parents. But I know how hard it can be to have questions about your parentage.”

“Thanks, Mila. But at least there’s a happy ending to this tale.” Glyn says. “My other mother came onto the scene and confessed she had a deep love for my mother. She swore to protect her no matter what, and the scene convinced my father to finally step up and confess his feelings. The three of them were quickly wed the next week, and it was found out three weeks later my mother was with child.”

“But because of the timing, there’s no way of telling who your birth father is,” Tisha says.

Mila nod. “It sounds confusing.”

“It is. Father, for his credit while not knowing if he is indeed my dad, raised me as his own. Sadly, because we are uncertain of my parentage, I cannot inherit the land or the title. Thankfully, my other mother, after much difficulty, was able to produce my dear younger sister. It was a fortunate outcome despite the circumstances.”

Mila nods. “It looks like you have an excellent family.”

“I do. But….”

“But you have questions about your bloodline.”

“I’ve encountered Count Fenwick a few times in my life. And I’ve felt a strong disgust for the man every time I saw him. I can tell my father still has a strong distaste for the man, but again he can’t do anything but work to protect my mothers and sister. Sadly, the Count introduced that engagement.”

“What’ll happen to the land if your sister marries that asshole?” Tisha asks.

“My father would have no choice but to name me an heir.”

“This sounds like a scheme to steal your family’s land.”

Glyn nods. “It’s likely. There’s nothing special about our lands, but maybe it’s something I’m just unaware of. Either way, I can’t allow that man to get what he wants.”

“Then let’s come up with a plan!” Mila yells out. She turns to Glyn’s map and notices the marks putting her hand down on various spots. “Um, that’s not a delightful spot.”

“What?”

“The guards already patrol that spot. Brother made sure these locations got special attention.” She explains.

Glyn shakes his head. “Come on, I worked hard on this patrol route.”

“It’s not a bad idea. But maybe ask someone who knows the patrol routes before you come up with an alternative route.” Tisha says.

Glyn sighs. “Fine. Mila, do you want to help me?”

She smiles. “Yes!”

“I’ll help too. Although I don’t know how much help I can be in this scenario.”

“Trust me, any help at this point will be welcome.”

“Good, then let’s start.” Tisha stands and looks over the maps. “What’s this? Come on, why would anyone hide here?”

Mila nods. “That’s a sheer cliff. It makes it hard to run away.”

“You need to spend some time training with some Elven Rangers, your mapping skill suck,” Tisha says.

Glyn sighs, shaking his head with a smile on his face. “Damn it. You two are some troublesome women. But maybe that’s a good thing.”