Banksy had one eye screwed shut and his tongue stuck out between his teeth in concentration. Sitting on the table in front of him was a small circular box, barely the size of his fist.

It was known as an eternity lock and it had taken Banksy a considerable amount of effort, and even more money, to acquire one.

The face of it was dominated by a series of overlapping circles that formed the first level of security. They currently were extended out to the edges of the box with Banksy having secured the proper sequence to open the next layer. He wasn't overly impressed with himself with that, however. While it had been difficult, it was still nothing compared to what was to come.

Eternity Locks were known as such because more often than not whatever was put in them was meant to be sealed away forever. From what Banksy had been able to find out from months of research, once an eternity lock's security was triggered, it would be impossible to open them ever again without destroying the contents.

Banksy sat back and took in a deep breath. He needed every ounce of concentration for this next part. He picked up his pick and slowly inserted it into the keyhole.

Bang.

Banksy's hand skipped and he felt something inside of the chamber crack as something large and heavy was slammed on the table in front of him, almost crushing the eternity lock, and his hands, in the process.

"Are you busy?" Makina asked, her small chest heaving with exertion as she sat down across from him and drummed her fingers on the long case she had just slammed on the table.

Banksy stared down at the eternity lock that was, now, eternally locked. He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling for a long time.

"…No, I guess not. Not anymore," Banksy sighed.

"Good, then I will need your assistance with something!" Makina said cheerily.

"What is it?" Banksy asked, pushing the eternity lock to the side. Technically, all was not lost. While the stories said that the eternity lock, once triggered, was unbeatable, he called bullshit on that. No lock was unbreakable and no door was forever sealed. All this meant was he would be able to prove he was even better. He would crack the eternity lock, triggered or not.

He cast a narrowed eye at Makina.

But maybe next time he would do it in the privacy of his room. His locked room.

"You see, I was investigating Cross's room-"

"I don't think he wants you doing that. I'm pretty sure he locks his door when he leaves," Banksy interrupted.

Makina waved her hand at him. "Cross is my servant. A servant has no privacy from his master. Furthermore, I am also a Spirit Goddess. No door should be locked for me. Don't they teach you mortals anything anymore?"

"Yeah… I guess that's true," Banksy said as he looked at the case Makina had struggled all the way down the stairs. It was a long, flat case, completely black and lacking any distinguishing markings. It looked like something Cross would own. "So what is this?

"I'm not sure. As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, a smite-able offence I might add, I was looking through Cross's things and I found this under his bed."

"You probably shouldn't open a box you found under a man's bed," Banksy said as he tested the weight of the case. It had considerable heft to it. He shook it a bit, but didn’t hear anything jingle. So no coins, then. Not that he would steal from Cross, but it was always good to know where the gold was.

"Why not?" Makina tilted her head. "What could be in it?"

"I, uh… never mind," Banksy said quickly. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Open it, obviously," Makina snapped, somewhat annoyed that Banksy even needed this to be explained after all the effort she had put in. "It is locked and I cannot open it. I tried to force it open but it seems to be well made."

"Yeah, it looks like it is." Banksy spun it around and looked at the lock. "I can probably open it, but…"

"But what?" Makina narrowed her eyes in what she thought was an intimidating manner.

"But I don't think Cross would really like that," Banksy said even as he ran his fingers over the lock. "I mean, if he took the time to lock it…he probably doesn't want us to open it."

Romeo plopped down next to Makina. "Who doesn't want us to do what?"

Banksy nodded to the case. "Makina wants me to open this. She took it from Cross's room."

“Oh, fun!” Romeo beamed down at Makina. "Starting to steal things already? You're growing up so fast. I'm so proud. But bit of advice, take smaller things that they won't notice. Cross is going to notice that this is gone."

"I am not stealing it," Makina said haughtily. "As I explained to Banksy already, Cross is my servant, as such I am allowed to take anything he owns whenever I please. That is the relationship between a servant and a master. Besides, I will most likely put it back after I find out what the moron has hidden away inside."

"Don't forget the fact that you're a Spirit Goddess too," Banksy added in as he opened up the leather pouch that contained his picks.

"Exactly!" Makina beamed. "I am glad you understand so well. I assume this means you will open it now?"

"I didn't say that," Banksy said, even as he continued to file through his pick set, searching for the correct one.

"I think you should do it," Romeo said lightly. "I mean, no point in there being secrets between friends, yeah?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"So when Cross gets upset, you're going to tell him that? Or are you going to tell him that I was the one who actually cracked the lock and you just happened to be around."

"Well, I mean…" Romeo gave Banksy a sheepish grin that Banksy responded to with a blank stare.

"That's what I thought," Banksy murmured as he pulled out a pick and held it up to the light. "This should do it… but…"

"What are you three doing?" Lexi asked, appearing behind Banksy, a dark-blue scarf hanging loosely around her slender neck. Banksy froze and looked to Romeo. The Lightning Mage's eyes were as large as dinner plates.

"Hello Lexi. I was simply having Bankmurfh-" Makina was cut off as Romeo placed his hand over her mouth. He gave Lexi a large, cheery smile.

"Oh you know," Romeo said, a little too quickly and a lot too loudly. "Just… just watching Banksy practice. Good to learn new skills, right buddy?"

"Y-yeah," Banksy nodded quickly. He rationalized that technically it wasn't a lie, just a slight bending of the truth. "Just practicing."

Lexi leaned down over Banksy's shoulder. "You do realize that I know that this belongs to Cross, don't you?

"I am beginning to realize that, yes" Romeo said, releasing Makina who let out a large huff.

"Makina, stop going through Cross's stuff," Lexi said with a soft sigh. "I already let you take his gold. Don’t push your luck."

"I am simply curious to know what is inside!" Makina whined after shooting Romeo a freezing glare, accompanied with a gust of frigid wind that ruffled through his hair and made him shiver. “Are you not curious.”

“No, I am not. I already know what is inside it.”

“What is it?” The troublesome trio spoke in unison.

"It's nothing you need to bother yourself with, just some of his personal items. Hence the lock. Banksy." Lexi reached down and squeezed Banksy on the shoulder, hard enough to leave a bruise.

"Right. Don't open it," Banksy said rigidly. The pick dropped from his hand and clattered against the table. "No problem. Understood. Crystal clear.”

Lexi blinked. "And?"

"And…" Banksy looked to Romeo for help.

"And…" Romeo made a thoughtful face. "And… put it back where we found it?"

Lexi nodded.

"Will do," Banksy said, rubbing his shoulder tenderly as Lexi finally released him.

"Good. I will be back later," Lexi said.

"Where ya going?" Romeo asked, leaning against the table. "Got another date?"

Lexi coughed. "Yes, I am going to see Sammir for lunch."

Romeo let out a low whistle. "Did you have lunch with him yesterday, and dinner the night before?"

Lexi nodded. "Yes, what of it?"

Romeo shrugged. "Nothing. Have fun and be careful."

Lexi stared at him for a long time before nodding. "Thank you. Now, go put that back and keep an eye on Makina. Both of you.” She started to turn away before pausing. “And boys?"

"Yeah?" Romeo ventured when Banksy remained silent.

"If you open that case, I will know.” Lexi narrowed her eyes. “And I will punish you."

"I hardly think I need to be babysat," Makina grumbled as Lexi walked away. She turned to Romeo. "You do not seem to like the man that is courting Lexi."

Romeo shrugged. "I've got nothing against it."

"You seem to," Banksy stood up and picked up the case.

"He's a young noble who is exploring the world. Kinda like I was," Romeo said with a frown. "I just don't want Lexi to get hurt or anything. She’s not exactly experienced or anything you know."

"Wow," Banksy said. "So you can look out for other people."

Romeo grinned. "Only the people I like. If some noble starts courting you, I won't say a word to you."

"Of course not," Banksy said as he started up the stairs. "You'll be too busy trying to get them to sleep with you instead. Jackass."

"You are both idiots," Makina muttered as the boys continued to bicker, even as Banksy disappeared up the stairs.

xXx

Sammir held the phoenix stone up to the light before bringing his eyes back down to rest on Lexi. "So you can communicate no matter how far the distance?"

"I'm not completely sure how far, but the range spans at least the length of Voy and further for sure," Lexi said, taking the stone from Sammir and slipping it back into her pocket.

"Putting the military aspects aside, the possibilities for civilian use is amazing. I hope these are put into commercial use soon," Sammir said thoughtfully.

Lexi nodded. "I'm sure they will be. The only difficulty right now is creating them. The method wasn't lost by any means, but the ability to create them hasn't been perfected as far as I know. We were simply lucky that our guild chose to hang on to our surplus. They only needed a quick magical charge and they were perfectly fine."

"Being able to communicate like this, it must be very advantageous for your guild."

"It is." Lexi frowned and her hand tightened into a fist beneath the table. It was very advantageous. However, it was also completely useless if one were to leave the Phoenix stone on their desk, like Cross had done. She blinked and looked up, realizing Sammir had asked her something. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I was asking about this Succubus incident you told me about earlier. I have a question, if you don't mind," Sammir said.

"Yes?"

"You said that the Succubus was able to overpower you for a short period of time."

"A very short period of time," Lexi mumbled.

"You said she attempted to put you under her spell again, but it failed. I know you said the other member of your team was able to see through her charms due to being a clairvoyant, I believe. I don't think you ever mentioned having that ability as well."

"I do not. True Clairvoyance is a considerably rare talent." Lexi nodded. "She caught me off guard the first time. The second time she tried it, I was prepared."

"So the defense required is mental?"

"Partly," Lexi said before leaning towards Sammir and blinking. Her already dark eyes went completely black, even the whites. Sammir's eyes widened in surprise. Lexi blinked again and her eyes returned too normal. "But, much of her power also came from eye contact and through physical touch. By using my own magic as a barrier, I was able to cancel out the brunt of her spell. It may not have lasted a particularly long time had the situation been different, but luckily it was enough.”

"That was very clever!" Sammir laughed as he sat back. "I am glad you were able to save yourself, and your friends."

Lexi shook her head. "I didn't save myself. We all saved each other. That is the strength of a team, and of a guild. It doesn't rely on a single person to do all the work. We support each other. If one wavers, the others will steady them."

"I see," Sammir said with a thoughtful nod. "I believe I am starting to understand the appeal of guild life. The life of Romiatii's Nobility is filled with far more politics. This extended peace is starting to wear on the older generation, I fear."

Lexi's brow furrowed. "How so?"

"I cannot speak for every kingdom, but I would wager it is true for all," Sammir sighed. "Everyone wants to expand their sphere of influence. However, with no war expected to come, there is no way to rapidly expand, or gain new wealth. That leaves the nobility who wish to grow more powerful to do so inside of their own Kingdom, most often by planned out marriages and alliances. It creates a rather cut-throat environment." He smiled dryly. "Of course, it is in rather bad to taste to complain about being part of the nobility, isn’t it? I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for my opportunities in the least. It is simply tedious at times, as all things are, I believe.”

Lexi nodded, but remained silent. She wondered if Romeo would agree with Sammir's assessment. A small smile crossed her face as she thought of how Cross would react. He had never been a fan of the nobility, or the monarchy for that matter.

Sammir paid for the meal and the pair left the cafe. As they entered the street, Sammir offered his arm. Lexi hesitated a moment before linking hers with his and they began to walk.

"I am sorry, you know," Sammir said after a few minutes.

"For what?"

"I have been badgering you quite incessantly with questions and taking up your time," Sammir said. "While I am enjoying myself more than I can even begin to express, I do I hope I am not bothering you too much."

Lexi looked up at the sky. "You… you are not bothering me at all. I am enjoying myself too, very much so.”

Sammir smiled. "I hope I can continue to enjoy your company."

Lexi nodded, feeling heat begin to burn in her cheeks. She resisted the urge to pull her scarf up to her face. "I would like that."