Xander opens the door to the room Grayson told him Gwendolyn was in. He sees her sitting in front of a screen displaying the room that he sparred with Grayson in.

He finds a chair next to her and sits down, “So you saw all of that?”

“I did, I’m sorry to do something like that to you … my dad insisted,” Gwendolyn apologizes for what he went through.

“It’s okay, I understand. Did you enjoy watching him push me around?” Xander tries to smile at his own self-deprecation.

“Yeah, I’ll admit I liked watching you be a little less uptight,” Gwendolyn chuckles.

Xander scratches the back of his head, “Oh, I guess I will try and relax more”.

“You are kind of sweaty. I can show you to the showers and we can resume this conversation in a more comfortable room,” Gwendolyn stands up. Xander follows her out of that room down the hall.

“I don’t have a change of clothes with me. I can go grab some from my room,” Xander mentions.

“No, I can get some for you, they will be there when you are out of the shower,” she stops him.

Gwendolyn shows Xander to the shower and tells him where to go once he is cleaned up. Before he strips off his clothing, he looks around to make sure this room doesn’t have a camera like the previous one. He doesn’t find any so he decides it is safe to shower. After he is done he finds the clothes Gwendolyn left for him while he was showering.

Xander makes his way to the room Gwendolyn told him about. Inside, he finds Gwendolyn lounging on a bed in more casual clothing than he has seen her in before. He looks around and sees many intricate bows of different shapes, sizes and styles from around the world hanging on the walls.

“Is this your room?” He asks nervously. “Yep,” she cheerfully responds.

Xander sits down on a chair opposite the bed, and Gwendolyn, having left ample room for him to sit down next to her on the bed, frowns at his seating choice.

Xander, oblivious to her hints, doesn’t notice, “So you heard all about my past. I was hoping I could get to know a little about you”.

“Sure, I have been a part of the Silent Brotherhood my whole life. My father was the leader before I took over,” Gwendolyn starts to explain.

“Is your mom a part of the Silent Brotherhood too?” Xander asks thoughtlessly.

Gwendolyn looks kind of sad when he asks that, and replies with downcast eyes, “No… my mother died when I was born”.

“I am sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” Xander apologizes profusely, knowing he’d been insensitive.

“It’s okay, you would have found out eventually. Actually, my mother was from the Sacrosanct Empire just like you,” Gwendolyn tries to make him feel better about it.

Feeling the need to share all of who he is with her, Xander decides to trust Gwendolyn with the entire truth about his past.

“I may have not told the whole truth to your father earlier. It is true that I grew up in the Sacrosanct Empire, but technically I am from the mountains. My entire village was wiped out except for me. A commander found me and did not have the stomach to leave me to die so he took me in. I never knew my real parents, I was too young to remember them,” Xander explains painfully.

Gwendolyn can’t stand seeing Xander like this so she gets up and hugs him, “I guess we have both had our share of tough times”.

“Yeah…” Xander blushes, his melancholy swept away by Gwendolyn’s sudden hug.

When she finally pulls away, he continues, “Anyway, I learned about all of that when the commander died when I was twelve. Afterwards, I vowed to destroy the Purity, the ones that ordered the destruction of the village. Everything after that, I pretty much already told your dad,” Xander finishes his life story.

“It is getting late, I should probably head back to my room so we can both get some sleep,” Xander suggests, noticing the time.

Gwendolyn grabs his arm thinking he is going to get up, “No… Don't go. I’m not that tired. I guess talking to you is pretty exciting”. Xander, for once taking the hint, doesn’t leave and their conversation continues long into the night.

The next morning Drakthar, Kayde and a very shaky Jorge meet up in the cafeteria.

“Looks like Xander didn’t come back to his room last night,” Kayde comments as he sits down.

“Neither did Alcaeus now that you mention it,” Drakthar notes, observing the other missing person.

“Aye, I helped the lad with that yesterday. He’ll be waking up in a woman’s room this morning,” Jorge mumbles almost incoherently.

“You doing okay Jorge?” Kayde asks, concerned at his current state.

“No lad, but hopefully I will find some drink soon. Last night I figured out where all the officers’ rooms are; apparently they are the ones who have stashed alcohol,” Jorge explains his plans for the day.

Kayde is intrigued by Jorge’s mission, “I’ll check out their rooms with you. It sounds more fun than sitting around all day waiting for the fight tomorrow”. He also feels slightly guilty for having bartered away Jorge’s alcohol in the first place. Kayde feels off, he tries to recall a time he’s had empathy for another person, but he can’t quite think of one.

The two of them head off after eating, leaving Drakthar by himself. He finishes his food as well and heads back to his room.

On his way there he sees a lifeless Xander in the hall. “You okay?” Drakthar asks him, concerned about his friend.

“Yeah, I am just tired. Gwendolyn and I talked all night,” Xander yawns.

Xander goes into his room and passes out. Drakthar is about to return to his room as well, but he sees an older looking man approach Xander’s door.

“I don’t think he is up right now. He just went in there and he looked tired,” Drakthar safeguards Xander so he can get some sleep.

“Ah, you must be one of his companions,” Grayson notes.

“Yes, I am Drakthar Borro’vaga,” Drakthar declares proudly.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Drakthar, I am Grayson, Gwendolyn’s father,” Grayson introduces himself as well.

“I was going to ask Xander to train with me, but seeing as how he is tired I will have to train alone,” Grayson explains why he was there.

“Train you say? Like how?” Drakthar becomes very interested in what Grayson will be doing. He is looking for some way to exert himself after being cooped up in a place like this.

“Typically with wooden swords, but I have other practice weapons like spears, lances, and axes,” Grayson informs Drakthar.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Did you say axes?” Drakthar is almost salivating.

“Yes, I believe I did,” Grayson smiles, having noted his newfound companion’s enthusiasm.

“Do not worry Gwendolyn’s father, you will not have to train alone. I will be your sparring partner,” Drakthar announces with gusto.

That same morning Alcaeus wakes up and hears a shower running in the adjoining room. He determines the woman he slept with last night is in the shower. He gets his clothes back on and starts to leave, but a sack on her desk catches his eye. Opening it, he finds a pouch of gold inside. He pockets the gold and walks out back to his own room.

Later that day Alcaeus goes to the cafeteria alone. He sits down with his food when five intimidating men approach him.

“Hey, guys what can I do for you?” He asks sarcastically.

“How about you start by giving Wanda back the gold you stole from her?” One of them responds.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. We just enjoyed each other’s company. You can ask her, I’m sure by her squealing she had a good time,” Alcaeus pats himself on the back while denying their allegations.

One of them stands up and moves right next to him, “I think you need to learn a little something called respect”.

“And what? You’re going to teach it to me with your fists?” Alcaeus starts to laugh at the hypocrisy of his statement.

“Yeah, maybe that would help you learn not to be a scummy piece of shit!” The man begins to fly off the handle.

Alcaeus calmly retorts, “Sounds like someone is just jealous because he didn’t get any from this chick after years together, and just one day after showing up I had her crying out my name”.

The man isn’t going to stand for Alcaeus’s taunting anymore. His buddies hold Alcaeus down as he punches Alcaeus directly into the face.

Alcaeus takes the first hit and laughs, “Yeah I hit the nail on the head there”.

The man punches him harder this time, “You couldn’t be more wrong you prick. She is my sister”.

“Oh, that makes sense,” Alcaeus realizes how he could react that way.

Alcaeus starts to lose his calm, the pain from the beating he is enduring is finally sinking in.

“Don’t you ever fucking go around her again,” Wanda’s brother gets in one last punch before cleaning off his bloody fist on Alcaeus’s shirt.

“Hey man it’s not my fault your sister is a slut,” Alcaeus can’t help himself despite barely being able to move. Wanda’s brother ignores Alcaeus’s comment and goes through his pockets, finding Wanda’s pouch of gold without much trouble. Alcaeus was too stupid to keep it off himself in case something like this happened.

Nobody helps the bleeding man once the confrontation is finished. They heard everything that went down and not a single soul is on Alcaeus’s side. He lies back in his chair, eventually passing out from the agony.

While Alcaeus was being beaten to a bloody pulp, Kayde and Jorge head to the first officer’s room, Kayde laying out their strategy along the way, “So the plan is we first knock on their doors. If they aren’t there, we break in and search for alcohol. That’s the easy scenario. If they are there, you distract them while I go invisible and search their room”.

“That sounds good and all lad, but what if they stand in the doorway so ya can’t get by?” Jorge points out a fatal flaw in the plan.

“Good point Jorge, you know what, never mind that second part. It doesn’t matter if they are there or not, I’ll make my way in and steal it right from under their noses,” Kayde revises his idea.

“If ya are confident ya can pull it off I won’t argue,” Jorge agrees with him.

They go to the first room. Jorge hangs back and watches while Kayde slowly opens the door so it is cracked ever so slightly as if happened naturally, so as to not arouse suspicion.

Nobody comes to inspect or fix the door so Kayde assumes no one is there. He creeps into the room while invisible and finds it empty. He spots a picture on the desk, recognizing a younger Gwendolyn with a middle-aged man he hasn’t seen before. He looks around and finds some whiskey and gin in one of Grayson’s drawers in his desk.

Kayde reappears triumphantly in front of Jorge, holding up a bottle of alcohol in either hand.

“Ya’ve done it, lad,” Jorge takes the whiskey from him. He unscrews the cap and drinks it as if he was a man on the verge of death by dehydration who just found water in the desert.

“This is a start lad, but I’m going to need more,” Jorge wipes away the bit of whiskey that dribbled into his facial hair.

“Let’s go to the next room then,” Kayde offers, deciding that it feels good to help Jorge out.

While Xander is sleeping someone knocks on his door. The noise doesn’t wake him up; he is too tired from staying up all night. The person opens the door and sits down next to his bed.

About an hour later Xander awakens to Gwendolyn intently staring at him.

He covers his half-naked self with a sheet, shocked to find her there, “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I came in here to talk to you, but you were still asleep. I was going to go away, but I…” Gwendolyn’s face starts to get red after thinking about why she stayed.

“I just wanted to ask you something, but you have to come with me,” Gwendolyn recollects herself. Xander puts on a shirt and follows her out of the room to the room she was in while watching Grayson test him.

On the screen in front of him, Xander sees Drakthar and Grayson sparring.

“Do you know what is going on here?” Gwendolyn asks once he has seen what is going on.

“No idea, they do seem kind of similar though now that I think about it,” Xander thinks out loud.

“I didn’t tell this to your friend, because I didn’t want to scare him, but if he hurts my daughter I am going to kill him,” they hear Grayson tell Drakthar over the ringing of the mighty axes crossing blades.

“You do not have to worry, there is no way that will happen. Xander would not even be capable of something like that,” Drakthar laughs in response, exuberant to be sparing with such a skilled warrior.

“Maybe not intentionally, but something could happen,” Grayson takes a swing at Drakthar.

Drakthar stops moving when he hears Grayson’s comment.

He stops laughing and gets serious, “If it came to that I would stop you myself. It would give me a good excuse to fight a mighty warrior to the death”. Grayson smiles at his grit and they go back to sparring.

“Maybe we should not have heard that,” Xander comments to ease the tension.

“Your friend has a very high opinion of you,” Gwendolyn fixates on Drakthar’s defense of Xander.

Xander scratches the back of his head, “I would not look at it that way; he just does not think I have it in me to hurt you”.

Gwendolyn’s face softens, “Well, he is a good enough friend to fight for you. It must be nice to have a friend like that”.

Xander uses this as an opportunity to learn more about Gwendolyn, “You did not mention anything about your friends, what are they like?”

A painful expression creeps onto her face, “I used to have one friend a long time ago, but we have grown apart. Other than that, being the leader of the Silent Brotherhood kind of isolated me from others my age”.

Xander notices the look on Gwendolyn’s face and cannot stand to see her like this, “Now you have a friend who will fight for you. I promise I will always be around to help you”. He notices Gwendolyn start to cry. Terrified, he begins to scramble, his promise having the opposite effect of what he intended. He is shocked when she wraps her arms around him and kisses him.

“Do you want to go back to my room?” Gwendolyn wipes away the tears around her eyes. Confused but not caring to unravel this mystery, Xander nervously agrees. This time when they enter the room, Gwendolyn doesn’t give Xander a choice of where to sit. She guides him over to her bed and they continue where they left off in the surveillance room.

Gwendolyn starts to pull up on Xander’s shirt when they hear the door hinges screech. They look over at the door and it seems to have opened slightly. Xander gets up and looks outside the door, but no one is there.

“That was weird,” he comments as he returns to the bed.

Just as Xander is about to start making out with Gwendolyn again, the floorboard creaks. He notices an indentation in the floor go away as if someone was stepping on it. He looks at Gwendolyn and puts his finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet.

Xander grabs a sheet off Gwendolyn’s bed and throws it out. The sheet falls, outlining an invisible figure.

“Kayde, what do you think you are doing here?” Xander asks knowing it is him.

Kayde reveals himself and pulls the sheet off, giving Xander a thumbs up as he does so, “First off nice job. Second, I am helping Jorge replenish his stash. Apparently, only the higher-ups have alcohol, so, you know, I was stealthily checking in here while you two were otherwise occupied”.

Gwendolyn goes underneath her bed and finds a bottle of tequila.

“Here,” she hands it to him, just wanting him to leave. Kayde takes the bottle, bows, and exits.

Gwendolyn, knowing the moment is ruined, tells Xander, “It’s getting kind of late. We have a big battle tomorrow. We should probably get some sleep”.

“Yeah, we are going to need our energy. Have a good night,” Xander leaves the room.

Xander spots Kayde and Jorge ahead of him in the hallway.

He speeds up his pace to catch up to them, “Come on man?”

“Hey, you were the one that made it into a thing. I could have come in, taken the alcohol, and left. She never had to know,” Kayde points out, not understanding what all the fuss is about.

“Like I could just keep kissing her while I know you are there,” Xander retorts, annoyed that Kayde won’t take responsibility for ruining his night.

“It’s not my fault you have performance anxiety,” Kayde quips causing Jorge to break out into hysterical laughter.