Barry’s heart was thumping in his throat. Lala had yanked him through the village and into a small corner to hide in. For a fraction of a second, he’d wondered what was going on until he’d caught sight of her. It was only a brief moment, barely enough time to process it before he lost sight of the crowd.

Miss Smith.

“What the-.”

“Shush!”

Lala had dragged him into a second alleyway. Her hands moved fast, pulling out a medallion from a pouch and slinging it over his neck along with a second one for herself. She then draped a hood over both their shoulders, fingers ruffling his hair right as she continued to pull him further away.

They zigzagged their way through the narrower streets until Lala finally let them stop. Barry’s chest was about to burst and his lungs were aching from the exertion, his eyes shooting questioning looks at her.

“These to hide scent and most other traceable things… there were knights.” She declared. “We absolutely cannot allow them to catch us. Things would get ugly fast.”

“What? Why?”

“If I tell you, you’re just going to get more nervous.”

Barry’s blood ran cold, his eyes widening. “We didn’t come alone… Embla’s near, isn’t she?” The moment he spoke the words, he could sense it at the edge of his focus. Embla was near, not within Seledo itself, but not all the way over to the court.

“We can’t let you get caught.” Lala stated. “And what was that look you had on your face back there? You looked like you saw a ghost.”

“I… think I did.” Barry said. “I saw miss Smith.”

“Who?”

“My psychology teacher.”

Lala froze, her eyebrows rose. “Otherworlder?”

“I thought they’d died.” He grimaced. “I should-.”

“Barry.” Her hands reached out to grasp his shoulders firmly. “Think what you’re about to say very carefully.” The fingers dug slightly, making him wince. She immediately recoiled, pulling away but lowering her voice. “Do you think it’d be a good idea?”

Slowly, he shook his head. She had a point, and he hated it. The thought that Miss Smith was alive was… immense. He couldn’t just sit still and do nothing, but at the same time, he couldn’t just walk out and wave at her. Not when they were in such a delicate situation, to say nothing that if Miss Smith was with knights, then approaching her could very well be dangerous.

How had she come to be with the knights? Who else had survived? Was it possible that Mark…?

Barry quickly shook his head. No, he couldn’t let himself be distracted right now. As soon as the mission was fulfilled, he’d tell Embla what he’d discovered and ask for help. “We’re going to have to cut our stay here short.” He said, feeling Lala nod and relax a little. “Where’s the girl I was…”

“Medicen.” She immediately pointed him down the street.

“What does that word mean?”

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“Medical center.”

“Oh.” He blinked, nodding absently, trying to turn his thoughts to the goal. The sooner they were done, the sooner he could look into Miss Smith’s situation. “How…?”

“The girl in question is called Marianne. Rapha, so pink hair.” Lala nudged him forward.

“That part of the plan wasn’t ever really explained too well.” Barry frowned. “Like, I just walk up to her and tell her I want to buy her?”

“It’s exactly that.” There was a slight look-over at Barry and a smirk. “But I’m guessing you’re going to want to bond her somewhere along the way.”

“… in case the purchase doesn’t go through.”

Which was unlikely to go through anyway because the Lord was occupied with… guests. Barry blinked at that thought. Was Miss Smith that guest? It would explain the knights, but why would she be a guest to the Lord? So many questions.

Rounding the corner while carefully keeping an eye out, Lala had moved to walk behind him as they approached the medicen building. It was a large stone and concrete box that had been covered in a beautiful wall of green vines on every side. The building looked as if it was being overtaken by nature, but the concrete and stone were untouched, while the vines were covered in white flowers. The design as a whole almost made it look like it was a garden. Yet the front doors broke that aesthetic, heavy gunmetal blue doors, opened like the entrance of some vault.

“Be brave.”

Lala’s whisper came with a little nudge.

They were greeted with a cool breeze as they entered the building, a bored looking dog-eared maiden sitting behind the desk and twirling a pen. She barely registered their presence until they’d stepped closer to the desk.

“How may I help you, sir?” The smile was customer-service.

“I’m looking for Marianne.”

A slight pause as she looked down at the papers on her desk. “She’s with a patient right now.”

“I…” Barry swallowed. “… was looking to purchase her. So… I wanted to meet her first?”

The canine woman perked immediately at that, her attention turned to him in full. “Certainly. Do you have a forward deposit?”

“Here, Master.” Lala handed Barry a leather pouch, and he passed it on to the receptionist.

The dark brown ears perked as she confirmed the contents. “I will clear Marianne’s schedule for the day.”

“I was… wondering if I could meet her right away?”

His question got a half-nod in response. Her hand gestured towards the double-doors to the right. “She is on the second floor, room two zero three. But you’ll have to wait until she’s done with her current patient.”

“Sure, thanks.”

They followed the instructions, moving through corridors that didn’t feel like ones belonging to a hospital. The walls were stone, and the floors were wood, with nothing painted in the standard sanitized white Barry had been used to expect from such a place. His gaze caught on several patients, humans, most of them, and the nurses going around. The uniforms were like some sort of dress taken straight out of a world war two movie.

And right as they walked up the stairs to the second floor, they both froze at the sight of two armored knights standing right on the other side.

“State your business.” The duo declared.

Lala froze, going several shades of pale. Barry couldn’t blame her. “We… visit, um, I want to meet nurse Marianne…? I was, am, erm, I am going to buy her.”

The two knights didn’t bother to react, only a slight nod to let them pass. The corridor had four other knights, and Barry felt his stomach drop at the realization he couldn’t start running now that they were there. What was going-.

One of the doors opened, a voice carried over.

“I hope you can do your job properly next time, young lady.”

Barry’s blood froze, eyes widening, grip tightening on Lala’s hand as terror gripped his chest.

A woman stepped out of the room.

Red hair, craggy wrinkled skin, a richly decorated black and gold camisole and baggy pants that felt entirely out of place on the woman he’d known for just about every minute of his existence. She turned to leave, adding some berating word or three, turned and looked at Barry. Her expression was just as shocked as his was.

“Barry?”

And the world became ice, his feet rooted in place, his body a singular slab of metal that refused to move from the spot it had been bolted onto. A thousand and one memories and thoughts jumbled together through his mind.

“Hey aunt Erica.”