"It's been long time since we've been here, hasn't it?" Alice sighed as she sat down on the bench. Cross sat down on the far side of the bench. Alice watched him out of the corner of her eye. When Cross shivered against the brisk winter wind, she let out a light laugh. Cross looked ahead stubbornly, his eyes barely taking in the majestic view of the city that stretched out below them.

"You should have worn a scarf," Alice said with a coy look as she reached up and adjusted the thick scarf that was wrapped around her own, delicate neck.

"It's fine," Cross said, even as he shivered again. His light coat was not nearly enough to fight off the growing chill.

"Oh, come here already."

Alice arm snaked out and wrapped tightly around his. With a firm tug, she pulled him across the bench and against her side. Before Cross could protest, she had unwrapped her long scarf and settled it around them both, pulling him even closer to her.

"See? Better, isn't it?" Alice said smugly.

"Yeah. I guess," Cross mumbled as he pulled the scarf up higher on his face, covering his mouth and nose from the cold.

Alice let out a content hum.

"You're mad at me."

Cross chanced a glance towards her. She was staring at him through those uncomfortably familiar green eyes. He could see a touch of worry hidden beneath her half-lidded amusement. It made his stomach knot and he quickly returned to looking ahead.

"I'm not at mad you."

"Yes, you are. You still make that same expression when you're upset. First your eyebrows furrow and then you twist your mouth." Alice reached up and pulled the scarf down to expose his mouth, which was indeed twisted slightly to the side. Cross pulled the scarf back up quickly, but not before the sudden blast of cold air made him shiver. Alice slid an inch closer to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling him tighter to her side.

"Don't want you to catch a cold," she said softly. "Then you'd have another thing to be mad at me about."

"I'm not mad at you."

"Cross…" Alice sighed. "Alright, then."

They sat in silence for a long time. It was not a comfortable silence. The weight of it settled so heavily on Cross’s chest it made his bones ache.

"You stopped writing," Cross said abruptly. His eyes widened in surprise as he heard his own voice. He refused to look at Alice even though he could feel her staring at the side of his face. When Alice said nothing, Cross sucked in a deep breath of the frozen air. He might as well keep going now that he had started.

"You stopped writing." The words felt thick in his mouth and slid painfully over his lips. "It's been three years since I last heard from you. I didn't know if you were dead or if you just… if you…" Cross shook his head and went silent.

Alice shifted against his side.

"I'm sorry, Cross," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

Cross succeeded in dragging his eyes to Alice. She met his gaze and gave him a weak smile. "Where have you been, Alice? What happened to you?”

"Would you believe me if I told you I had a very good reason to stop writing? For not coming home?"

Cross gave his head a small nod.

"Have you heard of Liet?"

Cross furrowed his brow and ran the name through his mind. It sounded familiar. Maybe something he had heard in passing. He shook his head.

"How about Lyne?"

That one Cross had heard of. It was a kingdom across the ocean that did most of its trading with Tejko. Mostly textiles and shipbuilding. He nodded.

"Liet is a newly formed republic. They broke away from Lyne recently. Three years ago, actually."

"Liet…" Cross's memory was jolted. He had heard the name before. Jiana had mentioned it after her return from a trip to Tejko once. Something to do with a lack in trade that was hurting the local economy.

"Lyne wasn't exactly thrilled when Liet declared itself independent. They formed an extremely effective blockade around the smaller nation with the idea that they could simply starve out the revolution before it could really take hold." She gave Cross a crooked grin. "Can you guess how well that turned out?"

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"They went to war."

"They went to war." Alice nodded. "Unfortunately, that meant leaving was out of the question. I've been stuck there for the last three years. Liet was completely cut off from the outside world. There was no getting in, or getting out. For anyone or anything. The few smugglers ships that tried are now at the bottom of the ocean.”

"Oh…" Cross frowned. He felt a good portion of it his resentment deflate instantly, leaving an empty hole that shame quickly filled in. He reached up and started to rub at his temple.

Alice giggled, drawing his eyes.

"You still do that," Alice said, reaching up and rubbing her own temple, mimicking him. "You always did that when you were embarrassed or confused or upset. That makes me happy."

"Why?" Cross said. He forced his hand back down to his side with effort.

"Because, maybe you haven't changed so much then," Alice sighed as she leaned against him. "You may be taller and grumpier, but you're still my little Cross. I am so glad.”

Cross's face felt hot and he tugged down the scarf to feel the cold air on his skin. "I'm not grumpy."

"Not even a little bit?" Alice said. She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow and grinned. "How about more serious then. Is that more fitting?"

"So, the blockade was called off?"

Alice allowed him to change the topic. "Yes. Peace talks are in the works at the moment and a ceasefire is in effect. I wasn't sure how long it would last though, so I caught the first boat out and headed back here." She shook her head. "I am sorry, Cross, for not realizing what I was getting myself into. I'm sure I worried you. You know, when you stopped hating me for not writing you."

"I could never hate you," Cross said quickly. The smile returned to Alice’s face.

"That is good to hear. Still, I am sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

"For what?"

Cross cleared his throat, then he cleared it again. "I shouldn't have been so… I shouldn't have tried to make you feel guilty. When you first left."

"Well, I am back now." Alice's smile grew. "I like to think that is all that matters. So, there is no need for anymore apologies, from either of us. Deal?"

"Deal." Cross agreed. "How long are you staying?"

"I'm not sure yet. I will at least be here until after the Dance of Blades." Alice winked. "After all, I need to see who replaced me since I relinquished my title."

"No one is ever replaced.”

“No, I suppose you are right.” Alice stared at him. "Though I did expect you to take my place, you know. Weren't you going to lead a team in my place? From what Servilia told me, you're actually following another Leader these days."

"She's worth following.”

"Oh?" Alice looked like she was going to press Cross for a moment. Instead she shook her head and sighed. "You also gave up on being a Hunter?"

There was a decided amount of disappointment in her voice. Cross shifted uncomfortably.

"You already knew that," he said. "I decided that long time ago.”

"I did, but I held out hope you would still change your mind." Alice spoke like a teacher chastising a student. "You were talented.”

"I'm a better Courier than a Hunter."

"Are you?" She caught his eye and he found he could not look away. Almost reluctantly he nodded.

"Couriering is best for me," Cross said. "And I'm good at it."

"Even though you failed your first mission?" Alice teased. Her hand found his wrist and she flicked her finger against his bracer. “Nasty experience, wasn’t it?”

Cross scowled. "I haven't failed since."

"So, I have heard. Actually, I have heard a lot about you, you know?" Alice began to absentmindedly tap her purple nails against his bracer, slowly traveling up and down the armour. "Well, not you specifically, but I was able to make some assumptions based on the rumors."

"What do you mean?" Cross said, trying to ignore the slight vibration from Alice's rhythmic rapping.

"Apparently a certain Courier has been causing a stir with the Followers of Jerrah. It's been mostly left unclear of what exactly he has been doing to bother them so much, considering he is just a simple courier. No doubt something not exactly legal. Though I did hear he managed to blow up a train car filled with Followers. That rubbed them quite the wrong way."

"You shouldn't believe rumors." Cross frowned. This was not his first warning about the Followers. He imagined they could hold a grudge for a long time, considering they were still following a madman who had died over a century ago.

"Oh, I know for a fact they aren't just rumors. The Followers of Jerrah are an extremely large organization. Lots of loose lips. Even if certain aspects of the story were exaggerated, there is no doubt there was an explosion." Alice tapped him on the back of the hand and smiled. "How exactly did you manage to blow up a train car, Cross?"

"I wasn’t the one who blow it up," Cross said in a weak attempt to defend himself.

"Ah, so it did blow up." Alice grinned.

"Not exactly." Cross sighed and reached up to touch his temple. "The windows exploded though."

"I believe that still counts as an explosion." Alice laughed. "Perhaps being a Courier is more dangerous than I thought. At least, so long as you continue to toy with dangerous organizations. I hope you haven't been getting yourself in over your heard." There was a hint of a challenge in her voice. "I wouldn't imagine you've kept up your swordplay. Not being a simple Courier."

Cross kept himself from rising to the bait as he flexed his ring finger. The firing mechanism in his bracer clicked and he rolled his wrist over to expose the small barrel. "I make due with these."

"I'm sure you do." Alice's fingers trailed over the weapon before she uncurled the scarf from around her neck and quickly wrapped it securely around Cross's throat. With a small squeak she popped up from the bench and stretched out her back. "Alright, then. This was fun, Cross. But I do have a few more people I need to see today before it gets too late. I am far from done with you, however. We have three years of catching up to do, so why don’t we have dinner tonight? My treat.”

A genuine smile passed over Cross's face and he nodded. "Yeah. Zachary's?"

"Of course. He's one of the people I need to see." Alice rocked from one foot to the other and a small smile lit up her face. "Hey, Cross?"

He looked up at her. "Alice?"

"Close your eyes."

Cross's eyebrow went up. "What?"

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Come on Cross, just do it." Alice pouted. Cross's mouth twisted for a moment before he nodded and closed his eyes.

Her scent suddenly filled his senses and he felt her breath, warm against his ear. “I missed you, Cross. I missed you so much.”

Cross flicked his eyes open, his hand reaching out, but she was already gone.

Ruefully, he smiled, his hand rubbing lightly at his temple.

“Right, then.”