Lyra looked at her left hand as she closed and opened it.

No matter how many times she did it, she was still weirded out by not feeling her pinky touch her palm. Or seeing the rest of her pinky. The scab on the lower third of the missing finger even itched, making the injury double the hassle, but she had been punished when she dared to scratch it. It interfered with the potion that helped the finger regrow.

Recalling the punishment made her overly conscious of the lingering pain in her buttocks, and it had been hours since the beating. To think she would be beaten with a permanent pain paddle at twenty-two! She was no child!

Well, technically, she was, but still!

It was so unfair! She was already injured! Why were they punishing her?!

It was all those old mummies' fault. Ever since they had forced her to be trained as an operative, she couldn't see her mom anymore. There were no comfy hugs and delicious soup to heal her, only bad-tasting potions and paddles for messing up!

No, wait.

She was upset with her mom, too! She had agreed to have her trained!

Her thoughts swirled and her upsetness increased until she realized her friend hadn't admonished her for it yet. She turned to look at Arly, who was frowning as they walked together toward the Watcher. Arlayna's profile gave off a mature etherealness against the yellowish-green foliage of the Mourning Forest in mid-Autumn, and not for the first time, Lyra wondered if she were really only an elf.

She was so beautiful! Fair skin, a well-proportioned thin body under her white and gray robe, silky blond hair, and eyes that looked like the ocean in Spring. Most high elves Lyra knew paled before Arly's beauty, Lyra included, despite everyone knowing high elves were better than elves in everything, including their looks! Someone had to have made some mistake when determining her best friend's bloodline.

"What's wrong?" Lyra asked, worried at the state of Arly's forehead.

Arly was always serious but never frowned. She also never failed to tell Lyra to calm down when she started getting upset about the unfairness of life. Supposedly, it was unbecoming of Acolyte Aspirants—and Arly would know; she was so awesome that she had become an official Acolyte in the two years they had stood apart! She was awesome like that!

To Lyra's surprise, her friend just ignored her question.

That wasn't right. Arly never lied about how annoying Lyra's questions could be, but she always answered. For her to be this serious and ignore Lyra after coming to bring her to an unplanned meeting with the Watcher, the first meeting after Lyra messed up and lost her finger...

Lyra's worries became much worse and her thoughts direr. She was going to get expelled, wasn't she? She knew... She knew Acolytes had to cut ties with Aspirants that failed. That's why Arly wasn't talking to her.

That was it. Lyra had messed up too badly in her first and, apparently, last mission. She didn't care about becoming a Keeper of Whatever, but she didn't want to lose Arly's friendship either! She had to do something.

Fortunately, they reached the Watcher only a few minutes later, enough for her to make a straightforward plan and not stress much about it.

The Watcher was sitting on a fallen tree trunk, a rarity in the Mourning Forest. The trunk was covered with moss, dirtying his pristine white and silvery robe. His long brown hair, something uncommon among high elves, was tied. Although he looked ethereal as any high elf, Lyra could tell he was ancient. He always looked tired, but today, there was also sadness in his eyes.

Lyra hated being forced to join these Keepers of Whatever, but the Watcher had always been fair and kinder to her than anyone. Even than Arly, sometimes. Knowing she had disappointed him ate away at Lyra, almost stopping her from further disappointing the man with her next actions.

But she had to do it; her best friend was too important to her.

Lyra stepped ahead of her friend, grabbed her own robe, and tore it apart. It was a bit awkward because her body stats weren't that high, but she managed after a few tries. Her clothes were shredded until nothing remained on her.

Lyra bared herself, showing she would hide no secrets and speak no falsehoods. Lyra removed her most basic protection from the elements, simple clothes, showing she would accept whatever came as a consequence of her actions, no matter what.

The nudity didn't bother her because though her body was grown enough for her to notice interest from her colleagues—all only a few years away from pre-mating age—she was still technically a child, and the Watcher had long passed his mating years. Of course, letting any male see her like this was a shame that would mar the rest of her life, but it was worth it and maybe even needed if she was to keep talking to her friend. Nature's Teachings were clear when it came to that: you had to sacrifice something to gain something.

Lyra then prostrated herself before the Watcher and begged, "I swear to Fate that for as long as you allow Arlayna and I to remain friends, I'll accept any punishment with no complaint and serve the Keepers however you want to the best of my ability, to the rest of my life."

Her mana left her body and locked on her soul, binding her to her vow.

The Watcher said nothing for a while. Eventually, she no longer felt that uncaring about being naked before a male, even an old one. To make matters worse, the humiliation of her situation, prostrating before someone, only got worse by the second—

Her thoughts were interrupted by... a sob?

Lyra shouldn't move before the Watcher said anything, but she turned her head to see Arly falling to her knees, crying desperately.

"Do you believe me now, child?" the Watcher asked the elf.

Arly wailed in sadness and hid her face under her hands, nodding like someone who had lost their most loved one. Just seeing her best friend like that made Lyra cry, too. She guessed Arly was suffering as much as Lyra at their upcoming separation.

"Sorry, Arly," Lyra said amid her own sobs, using the nickname her best friend hated. But this might be her last chance to use it. As a failed Aspirant, she would be forced to forget everything about the Keepers. "Sorry. It's all my fault. I'm so dumb. I'm so sorry."

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Her words made Arly cry harder, which made Lyra also cry harder.

Suddenly, silence came to the world. Lyra couldn't hear herself or her friend. Still crying but surprised, she turned to the Watcher, who had used a spell to deafen her.

He looked even sadder now as he raised a finger to his lips, asking for silence. Lyra wanted to do anything but stop crying, but she forced herself to behave for Arly. The least she could do for her friend was let her remember Lyra as something better than a disobedient crybaby.

Eventually, the Watcher removed the deafening spell. Lyra and Arly were both silent-ish; they were sniffing. Lyra kept trying to get a hold of her friend's eyes, but the elf kept looking at the Watcher and nothing else.

"Acolyte Aspirant Lyraesel," the Watcher said gently, "I have something very sad to tell you. I wish I didn't have to, but it's important that you know, or you might resent the Keepers for what's about to happen."

Lyra nodded, struggling to hold back her tears, prepared for her dismissal.

"You believe you and Arlayna to be childhood friends, but only because you were sheltered," the Watcher started, confusing Lyra. What did that have to do with her being expelled after her failure? "Arlayna was a galyn. Her parents committed treason, and she was accepted in your home as a half-foster child. Two years ago, she was deemed old enough to choose whether to join High House Naerith or seek other opportunities. Your mother, Speaker Naerith, was kind enough to find many such opportunities for her, including a candidacy among the Keepers of Whispers. When we asked why Arlayna picked the latter, she revealed she wanted to stay away from you."

Lyra couldn't fully process any of those words.

A galyn? No, that couldn't be. She didn't live in the manor with Lyra... Or did she? Fate, was that why she was always there to play?! Because she lived in the house?

Lyra's world shattered, and the humiliation of her nakedness was nothing before the realization of her arrogance and self-importance. She had never asked where Arlayna lived or accompanied her to the door. Arlayna always came, played with her, then left. Lyra hadn't even considered going to the girl's house to play there instead.

Also, her mother was a Speaker of the Keepers of Whispers?! That was surprising but still made some sense. What didn't make sense was that Arly would want to stay away from Lyra!

"Arly never told me to get away from her," Lyra said weakly.

The Watcher's smile became even sadder, "Arlayna excelled from her first day as an Acolyte Aspirant, and when she became an Acolyte, it was determined that she could rise to an important position. But to do that, she would need to prove she could tolerate even those she would rather not, like a young childhood colleague she is jealous of. So you were arranged to come as an Aspirant, and she was made your direct supervisor. However, she was forbidden from revealing she had been assigned as your superior. She didn't need to pretend to be your friend, but she had to treat you as an equal despite your different statuses.

"You're naive and inexperienced and failed to perceive the obvious, as we knew you would. Your first mission was also Arlayna's first real test. We showered you with compliments in front of her and compared you to her only in the very few points she was inferior to you. The goal was to make her react one way or another. We would have been fine with anything from defending herself to screaming at us to trying to quit the Keepers. All of that would be forgiven. But she did the one thing that cannot be tolerated among our members: betrayal. She willingly withheld information that she knew would cause injury to another member. Worse, to a member under her care. Even worse, she had been ordered to deliver the information she withheld."

It took a few moments for Lyra to understand what the Watcher was talking about and look at her missing pinky finger. Then, she widened her eyes.

She knew what was coming and dreaded it even more than not talking to Arly ever again. She hated it even more than whatever mistake Arly might have made that caused her to lose a finger. It was just a finger! It could regrow!

"No!" she said as she approached the Watcher a step, walking on all fours, reaching for him. "It was a mistake! My mistake! It's my fault I was hurt!"

The Watcher's kindness slowly morphed into cold impassiveness as he continued talking. "We informed her of the many traps you would face in your mission. We ranked them according to how likely you were to spring each, even after you were warned about them. Arlayna was commanded to inform you about all the traps. Your first mission isn't supposed to test your awareness but how well you recall crucial information under stress. She didn't reveal the second trap you would most likely forget about, and only because the first one would be lethal. She thought she could only get away with you losing a hand as long as you lived. You lost a finger instead because we lowered the danger of all traps after informing Arlayna about them."

"Please," Lyra begged, prostrating herself again. "Arly was galyn. They have it hard enough. I beg of you, forgive her for this minor—"

"Shut up!" a female voice shouted angrily, and Lyra looked, shocked, at Arly. Her ocean-blue eyes were filled with the most rage Lyra had ever seen. "You... You self-righteous, arrogant, pompous, coddled, self-important... fayn! Stop looking down on me! I know what I did! I'm not as clueless as you! No one is! Wake up! The world isn't the easy, good, kind place that bigger fayn you call mother made you think it is! I would have killed you if I thought I could get away with it!"

"That is a lie," the Watcher's cold voice cut in. "Her emotions are chaotic, and she is suffering after seeing how far you would go for her. She is being forced to reevaluate your past actions as coming from a naive girl rather than someone just pretending to be nice, and she is suffering for it. Her betrayal is crushing her heart, especially considering her parents were also traitors. But she isn't ready to face some truths yet."

Lyra didn't know what to say, but she started, "Arly..."

"Shut up!" Arly repeated, crying silently but angrily.

"I release you from your vow, Acolyte Aspirant Lyraesel," the Watcher said, and Lyra felt her vow disappear. "Leave."

Lyra didn't move. She was shocked, but she still couldn't believe Arly was evil. She had just made a mistake. They could talk it out. Arly was her best friend—her only friend. She couldn't lose her. And she had to stay by her side at all times. For Arly.

So, Lyra gathered all the courage she had and replied, "I refuse your command."

The Watcher's sad smile returned. "I was afraid you would."

He extended his arm sideways and took a curved knife in a black leather sheath from his spatial storage. He threw it at Arly's feet. She and Lyra paled when she saw it.

The Watcher said, "Arlayna will pay the price of her betrayal, under the weight of her position, and considering her circumstances. She'll undergo minor shaviren and have her memories of you removed." All the while, it had been Arly who had failed the Keepers. "Speaker Naerith has taken mercy on her—for your benefit, I believe—and will train her on a different path. She'll become a Witness among your soon-to-be half-human cousins."

Lyra gulped as her eyes were fixed on the Shame Blade. Arly grabbed it, cut the leather scabbard while unsheathing the voidsteel knife, and used it to mar her beautiful face with an ugly scar that would follow her for life.

Arly teared up despite her serious face, and Lyra started sobbing again.

The Watcher nodded in approval at Arly. "Should you succeed as a Witness, you will be ordered to pick a human first name. If you want Lyraesel to know it, as a minor apology to her, you can choose the name now and state it. If you don't, your ties will be broken for good."

Arly's face twisted in the multitude of chaotic emotions the Watcher had said she was feeling. In the end, she looked at Lyra again, still angry but also with something softer that the high elf couldn't recognize. Lyra almost mistook it for shame, but Arly was never ashamed. Not even of this false betrayal. It had been an honest mistake. It had to be.

Wasn't Lyra's mom a Speaker? She would talk to her and make everything right again. She promised herself.

"Tamara," Arlayna said as she seemed to stare at Lyra's soul. "I'll be called Tamara."

Then, she stood up and left the forest without ever looking back.

Small animals and insects filled the silence, especially the chirping of birds. Lyra had trouble reconciling the peaceful surroundings with what had just happened.

She knew she should be running to her mom to make everything right again, but why did she feel so weak? Why was her body trembling? Why was there a hole in her heart—as if she hadn't been lied to?

Eventually, the Watcher spoke again. "You would be made to forget all about her so your heart would find peace. But your punishment for defying my order to leave will be my sourest lesson to you to date: I'll give you what you want. You'll remember everything, Lyraesel, and may you never blame me for it. You brought this upon yourself."

It only took her a few days to understand the deep wisdom and cruelty of the punishment.