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Jack stood on the hill just outside of Kofka, looking at the faint flickers of fire playing between the houses. The rooftops covered in light snow like the students recently cleaned them. The cold breeze of the night told them that they should make their way to the kingdom now, but hesitation overwhelmed them. Momentary decisions to turn back, but eyes never straying from the village. They already received a ride from Wain and the others, can't waste the opportunity. Jack felt a dryness in his mouth when he swallowed. It hasn't been a long time since they were dragged away from here, but it sure felt like it was a long way back, and one he wasn't fully prepared for.

Stella placed a hand on his shoulder. Ace ruffled his hair. He didn't have to look at them to know they would give him a warm smile and steeled eyes. He took a deep breath and descended the snowy hill, with his crew steps behind them, all silent, but behind him.

They made their way through the buildings towards where the inner castle gate used to be but replaced with long tables and tents for the kingdom's stock collection. Jack halted suddenly and stared at the flickering light on the snow, with everyone waiting for a word. None was given, but he twisted his heels and walked past through the alley way. A few houses and turns brought him to the centre of the street with his eyes glued to a wooden wall. The dim orange light from the opposite side of the street barely revealed the fine crack running along from the ground board to almost the top.

"You guys are back!" Mrs. Cho treaded through the snow as quickly as she could with her cane. "Thank The Three, you guys are back!"

"Yea we made it." Jack smiled until the old lady buried her nose into Jack's stomach.

"Huh, I wonder if anyone will ever hug me first." Stella scoffed before Tana wrapped her arms around her and gave an awkward smile.

"Wait, can you be back?" Mrs. Cho asked.

"Yea, the rebel leader told us that we have at least two days before the empire can get scouts here. Worst case scenario is The Dog coming but that is highly unlikely. We should be good." Jack had a warm forced smile.

"I see. I couldn't believe it when one of the students told me that you guys came back. Oh, I am so glad that you all are safe, but you aren't okay. Not if you are here." Cho looked down.

"Erika, you are giving them the wrong idea." Raymond made the corner to join them. Unknown white shaggy hair still hiding behind the wall the old man appeared from. "I would not say that we are glad you are back. Are you bringing trouble with you again? Revolutionaries, generals, how can we be happy and not scared?"

"Raymond, stop! You know how they feel. You should know...Of course we are glad to have them back. Let's go to the castle and have dinner, Quinn has been keeping enough extra and some aside for your return. You can visit the grave tomorrow when there is light."

"Who is that behind the wall?" Stella pointed. "Is that a student."

"That is another reason I am glad you came back. He was looking for you guys, and he seems to have been going through a lot. You can come out now!"

The white hair moved from behind the wall slowly to reveal that it was long. Long enough to fall over a dirtied red and black cloak plagued with frayed holes all over and touch the ground. Glowing yellow eyes peeked behind the hair, but they were darting all over the ground like he was looking for something, only occasionally glancing at the crew he was waiting to meet. His eyes were gorgeous, Stella thought. They were different than Arthur's even though the colours matched. These eyes were actually glowing. He arrived and moved the hair from his face. All eyes on him caused his eyes to divert away. He had a young face with sharp features, but a height similar to hers and Jack's. His lips had a slight tremble with words chopped before any success at leaving his mouth.

"Are you nervous?" Tana asked, "Did you hear about The Hummingbird and wanted to meet him?"

The boy shakily raised his hand close to his body and pointed towards Ace.

"Me? You are here to see me?" A jittery nod confirmed the gesture.

"What is that on your face?" The boy softly said, causing Stella to stifle a laugh. "You are Ace right?"

"I am Ace. Do you know me?" The boy nodded his head. "Who are you?"

"My name is King."

Jack's eyes widened. "The one that Virgo knew. The one that could help us."

Another nod and a shift in gaze to Jack. "Virgo told me that you all have to stop Ira. I can help, I think. He told me you all were different. I thought it meant scary. He told me there was a weird mentor, and then I stumbled on an article that the weird mentor's name was Ace. I have been waiting for Ace all my life."

The soft tone and quick speech caused a delay reaction of surprise. He knew Ace, too? How? Ace was the first to respond. "I'm sorry King, I don't know you, and I think you might be mistaken...You look strangely familiar though."

"I...I don't think so. You are Ace...ummm...you were in love with Anne." Ace nodded with a shocked look. Tana's look was less shock and more of a frustrated curiosity.

"Anne? Who is Anne?" She calmly raised the volume in her voice.

"Oh, Anne is the pri..."

"You don't have to tell them. Who are you, King? How do you know that?" Ace asked. Tana punched him in the ribs.

"Aren told me. Aren told me all about you. I am named King, because you are Ace." His eyes darted to the side quickly. His cheeks red. "I am your son."

"Huh?" More than one voice synchronized.

***

Stella cloaked a jacket over her sleeping attire and unfolded the thick blanket from the storage in her room. Her shoulders slumped and ached as if the tension was the only thing keeping them from falling off. She couldn't wait to sleep in a bed and not have her hands bound to a cage.

A quick sip of water and a sudden burst of breath killed the candle. The moon tinted the room blue through the window, but she hesitated before hiding it behind a curtain. She could sleep in the dark calmly tonight, but she felt weird about indulging in that luxury. She was over thinking, she just needed sleep. Three knocks rattled the wooden door to her room and stopped the curtain halfway.

"Co..." Stella started after a moment of processing. The door burst open and with a silver haired girl making a dash for the bed. Her eyes peaking from under the blanket. Tana stumbling into the room with a hand full of blankets and pillows. "What was the point of knocking?"

"Sorry, she just had to make sure you were awake." Tana plopped everything on the ground and began to lay them out. "I hope you don't mind, but we missed you."

"How could I turn you away when you already brought everything." Stella stooped down and helped her make the extra sleeping space. Tana chuckled at the sarcastic pouting from her friend. "Did you get to meet Ace?"

The question shifted the expression on the silver eyed girl. "No! I waited for them to see if they really weren't going to have dinner. How could he just drag King away? We would have questions too, like ugh, son! How could Ace have a son that is your age? Why didn't he deny it?"

"Umm, about that. It is possible, Ace is older than he looks." Stella scratched her head. "I think it's best for him to tell you. I am sure they will explain it in the morning."

"How old can he be? Is he in his 50s? That is more than double my age. Oh, no."

"What is age, but a number in the face of love." Stella mocked.

"Stop, I don't love Ace. Not even a little. Stop being weird. You can't make fun of me, bird lover." Stella continued laughing off Tana's attempt of a counter.

"He has a kid, that must have really shocked you. It makes me feel like I will have a younger brother, but Ace is like my older brother...huh its weird."

Tana jumped in bed but to hers and Luna's surprise, the ashen hair girl joined her on the ground. "I want to say I am shocked, but during dinner I thought about how little I really know about him. How little we really know about each other's pasts. Our days are always exciting, even if we don't do much, but we barely get quiet moments to talk about the past, is what I am trying to say."

"Yea, but him even more so. Did you know the masked man knew Ace? Like really was a fan." Stella turned to face her friend.

"I got that when they were fighting. Well, I wouldn't call it fighting. He was getting beat up a lot but all he tried to do was move forward." Tana turned away and stared at the ceiling. "It upset me. He just let that man hit him. It upset me even more when you guys left. It made me feel like we weren't worth fighting for. He could have kept us together. He could have maybe saved Noa. I know it's a terrible thought and I can never say it to him. I hate that I am saying it at all, but it is bothering me. Does it bother you? You were even beat up so badly that time because of his inaction...that could have been avoided."

The pause was long. Tana turned to face Stella that was now lost in the darkness of the ceiling. Tana opened her mouth, but Stella accidently timed her effort perfectly. "I don't think knowing more about him will change much. Something happened when we were captured that had me really questioning what goes through his head, but I'm still in the dark."

"Yea he told me when you were talking to Mr. Arthur."

"Oh, well despite that, he just apologised and told us it won't happen again. It made me sure that he chose to be this way for good reasons. I am sure he regrets Noa more than all of us. I think he wants to keep us together more than any of us, but he has a reason for all of this. For taking us as students and letting us go on adventures. He failed once or twice, and they are big failures that will haunt him, but he will deal with it, I think. He may not deal with it in the best way at all times, but who does."

"I know. I see it too. Sometimes I wish we just take an easy way out."

"It may sound stupid, but I am glad he let me get beat up. I think he understands me better than most. My fate was determined from an early age, and when Luna disappeared, things were scarier. My parents, adopted parents, kept me inside and had anyone I needed to meet, come to me. My parents never forced anything on me, but all the teachers and guards and aunts would tell me my role. To be the head of the family and take over finance division of Cartina. I worked really hard to impress my parents. Impress the head of the house. I studied really hard, learned everything I ever had to, always afraid to have failed. The problem was that I didn't. They would never tell me no, but they would guide me towards another path. Always keeping me on this guided path while carefully trying to keep my ego up, always in my favour. It felt like I was balancing on the edge of a wall.

"Then I met my knucklehead mentor. He tells me no. He tells me no but doesn't give me an answer. Sometimes he shows me the no with a painful lesson. He lets me fall, and I realized that the wall wasn't that high up. I am free to approach things the way I want to. He is my mentor, and I wouldn't want to change him. Damn, I think I messed up."

"Why do you say that?"

"Nothing big, I just wasn't doing my best when I could have, and it is bugging me. I guess there is a lot bugging everyone."

"You know, I am not a fighter."

"I know, but you are always there for us."

"Oh, I know, I wasn't saying it for that. I am saying that you don't need to be strong around me. I know how much you try and hold up everything for everyone, but if something is bugging you, then you can count on me. Even if you don't think I can help, I still want you to tell me. I care about you, not for what you can do, but because I like you, Stella. I think you are amazing."

Stella felt different. She never assumed that they wanted her for anything, but thinking about it now, she felt like she was still trying to be useful. Was it subconscious? She didn't like this feeling, but she felt warm. Relaxed. Did she just need to hear it. Tana's warm hand grabbed her thoughts when she took her hand.

"I mean it, Stella. You are enough and you can tell me when you are going through something."

"Thank you. Damn, now I really have to fix things."

"That is exactly what I mean!" Tana pouted. "I guess it will take time."

"You really think about us a lot. What is your opinion of me Tana?"

"I just said it. You are amazing. You push yourself to improve every day, and thoroughly enjoy it. You support anyone you care about and put yourself in danger without hesitation. There is so much confidence and love in your actions that I am in awe. I think that makes you really cool."

"You have me thinking that you might like me more than Ace." Stella laughed. "What do you not li..."

"You shake your legs when we sit all the time, you bite your nails when listening to a conversation and you crack your knuckles all the time whenever there is quiet and..."

Stella pulled her hand away. "You talk way too close to people. Ugh, that isn't even what I meant. Why were you so prepared with that? How long did you have that pent up."

"I am sorry. I don't know where that came from."

Luna crashed down onto the two girls, bringing her blanket with her. "Cold."

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Tana and Stella laughed as the small one made herself comfortable between the two. Stella wrapped her hands around her sister while the conversation carried on until her eyelids were too heavy and her voice was turned to snores.

***

Jack was bathed in the blue light under the moon. He felt calm in his thick blanket, as the cold wind felt colder against his wet cheek. He stared at the three stone columns stuck into the ground. 1625 carved into the first, Noa in the centre and 7th of December, 1644 in the last. He should go inside soon, but he didn't feel right to get up. He felt like he would be leaving him behind. He just wanted to join them. To get stronger and join his brother. Jack told him that he could come along. Jack was glad that he was coming along. Jack wanted him to come along. If he got up and walked back towards the town, then Noa wouldn't follow. Why did he survive? Why did he survive if he had to feel like this? Why couldn't Noa have lived and accomplish his dream? They wanted his head. He was the cause of this. That stone should have his name.

Noa's broken sword dug into the ground, in front of the centre stone. Jack turned his head to see Ace standing back up. "We often left a warrior's weapon with their grave. Let everyone that visits, see that they were a brave one."

Jack looked at the sword. The wooden monkey swaying with the breeze. "I didn't expect to see you here tonight. Did you finish your conversation with King?"

"Yea, it turns out he sorta kinda maybe technically but not really can be considered my son." Ace took a seat. "It is complicated, but it is a miracle he is alive, and I am grateful I got to meet him. He is a good kid. Tenny is telling him stories all now. He will explain everything to you guys tomorrow and we were hoping that he could join. He would ask from himself tomorrow as well."

Jack's eyes still fixed on front of him. Hypnotized by the sword accessory's movement. "You know that we wouldn't turn him down if he is important to you. You could have just told him yes. He seems kinda shy, not like you. You have a kid, but then again after being alive for 300 years, I should be surprised there aren't more than one."

"Tenny told you how old I was. I should have known. I look forward to getting to know King, but I wanted him to be respectful. I also wasn't completely sure how you felt about a new member."

Jack took the wooden monkey from the sword hilt and fixed it onto his headband. The figure danced just above his left eye. "Its name is Tiger. I told Noa that you would love the name."

"You weren't wrong."

"He got it from the orphanage back home. He said he wanted to carry it all across the world on adventures. I feel like I can inherit this goal. I feel like it is the least I can do."

"I am really sorry Jack."

"I know you are. I knew you were from the first time you said it. Every other time is just for yourself. You can't keep blaming yourself, you are human too. We may have all gotten too confident in your strength, but you have to overcome that the most. It's strange but Nine helped me see that too. I want to stand as a leader and own up to my decisions. I don't want to rush into things thinking that they have no consequences. Of course I would need help getting there, and I don't want anyone to die, but I want those results from my decisions."

"I think that is really brave. That is why you didn't want me at the meeting today." Ace gave a slight pause. "I understand and I will be here if you ever feel like it is too much."

"Duh, isn't that what a mentor is for."

"You got me there. I am really proud of you Jack. You grew from a terrible experience. I am really proud."

***

Jack rushed towards the exit of the castle after someone told him it was almost noon. Ace and him talked almost until sunrise, but he still wanted to visit the grave with the rest of them. They should have woken him up. He weaved through obstacles with ease and burst through the front door, only to come to a complete halt. A thick blue fabric cloaked a familiar large frame. The body turned for the beady eyes to lock onto Jack while taking a biting into a large donut.

"You are in a rush this morning."

"Yea I am running a bit late." Jack tried to walk around him.

"Wait! Jack!" Stella ran from behind him. "You just bolted out."

"They told me that you guys left for the grave this morning."

"I wanted to wait on you. I wanted to be there with you until I found out that you were out there all night. The others already left so I figured I would still wait."

"That is cute."

"Shut it Quinn." Stella barked.

Quinn took another bite of the donut before shifting to the side. "I was waiting for you as well. I wanted to let you know that I sent out a letter to military force in a nearby village. I told the messenger to take his time and get there well into the night. You should have until the morning to leave. I wanted to warn you."

"That is dirty. After you got this position thanks to us." Stella answered.

"That is exactly why I am trying to keep this position. If the military decide to send someone and take over Kofka, then I will be nothing here again. If I can be trusted, then I have a better chance of running this kingdom myself. I don't want you to get caught, but if you stay that is on you. I already did my part in warning you."

"Well played Quinn. You really haven't changed much." Jack started to walk past the former baker.

"I never planned to cha..." Stella leapt in the air and smashed her fist against his nose and near his eye. Both of them stumbled in the same direction after the strike but only one fell to the ground. Stella hovered above the man pinching his nose to stop blood from running.

"I wanted to do that for a long time." Stella cracked her knuckles.

"Ugh. I should have seen that coming. I should have sent someone to tell you." Quinn showed no signs of trying to get up.

"What do you mean? I did that for you. Now you can tell them that we fought and got away. I was helping your case." Stella walked past the man on the ground.

"Thanks." Quinn grunted.

***

Jack and Stella could spot the team and the new white hair surrounding where they needed to be. The sound of snow under their boots alerted the crowd to turn and make room. The parting of Tana and King revealed a bed of light green flowers spread on deep green leaves. Jack didn't expect the sight to draw water from his eye.

"It's beautiful right?" Tana spoke softly. "Mrs. Cho had the idea, and Quinn brought them in someday. They were waiting for us to come back to spread them. Green Zinnia, she said they are called."

Jack stared at the ball shaped flower, the hundreds of tiny petals spreading over each other, the thick green leaves they laid on. "Yea. I think so."

Stella quickly wiped her tears. She was the last to visit the grave, but she didn't know what to do. She rarely visited her parents' graves. She could never bring herself to look at Luna's back home. She looked at the sword hilt in the ground. She looked at the emblem pinned to Jack's headband. In the past it felt like the world took something from her. It did this time too, but she didn't feel as helpless as before. She wouldn't let it happen again. She couldn't let it happen again. Her eyes blurred more this time but wiping it away shifted her sight to her friends. It felt different having friends around after a tragedy. She was really glad to have friends. Her eyes fell on the white-haired boy. A new friend? A brother?

Her eyes weren't the only ones that fell on King. He ducked behind Ace smoothly while his eyes locked onto the flowers. Tenny took advantage and startled him by landing on his head. Ace nudged him froward.

"Ummmm...Hi. I am King. Ace told me I...could have been confusing yesterday. I...I..." His yellow eyes shifted again.

"You are really nervous. It makes me think that Ace told you something bad yesterday." Jack said. King turned red. Ace and Tenny turned away quickly only to be gifted a slap to the back of the head from Tana.

"No, no...maybe, but it wasn't like that. It is hard to explain but I looked up to Ace for a very long time. He is different from what I was told but still someone special to me, but I didn't know about you all. When he explained it to me, I was really excited, but I...I haven't really talked to much people before.

"I want to join your team, but I was really nervous. He told me that everyone had joined because they all happened to collect a moon rock, and that is what makes it Lunar Eclipse. He also said that he would help me find one in the meantime, but after joining, everyone besides them has cut off their middle toes to show they are members and that made me even more nervous."

Stella walked pass King with a gentle tap on his shoulder. She started the assault with a fist that took the moustache to the ground. Tana helped in stomping on him while Jack drew the attention of the mislead boy.

"Ace was just being dumb. We have all of our toes and we never seen a moon rock. He does dumb stuff like that." Jack looked at the nervous glances and placed his hand on his long shaggy white hair. The yellow glowing eyes softened and met Jack's. Jack pulled his hand away. "You don't have to be worried about joining. We hoped to run into you eventually after Virgo told us about you. You must be strong if you have his attention."

King's eyebrows pointed upwards, but eyes squinted with the tip of his nose raising into his face. His jaw punched out to finish the most disgusted look Jack ever saw. Jack took a step back before King's face returned to normal. "No, sorry, I just...I just don't really have much good experiences with Virgo."

"That would make both of us. Either way, welcome to the team. I am glad you are joining us." Jack reached out his hand. King's cheeks were red when he reached from under his torn cloak to embrace it.

"Are you sure? I know it isn't an easy decision to make right now." King's eyes glanced towards the sword hilt.

"You are wrong. That is what makes it an easy decision. I won't let anything like that happen again. I am going to be a better leader, and I still want to help others. I will probably count on your strength for that, but I will look after you. I promise...I will be someone you can believe in."

"Thank you. I never had a friend before. I am excited."

"I am excited too. It looks like we are going to have to get you some new clothes. How are you not freezing through that."

"Also, a haircut." Stella passed her hand through the thick white fluff after finishing her assault. The two looked back to see Tenny and Ace flattened in the snow.

"Thank you. It is okay though. I don't get cold easily." King smiled to reveal sharp teeth filled his mouth.

"You also haven't told us about you. You said you were waiting for everyone. Who is your mom? Why hasn't Ace mentioned you?" Tana latched onto one of his arms.

"Yea, Ace told me that I had to explain that too. Ace isn't really my dad in like that idea. I was found by someone named Aren 300 years ago. He told me that I shouldn't meet people yet, because I would be in danger. He told me that he couldn't protect me if anything happened, so I was kept in secret for a long time.

"I loved Aren. He was a great father, or like a father, and he always told me stories of Ace. He and Ace were great friends back in the day, and I even got my name after Ace. Ace is named after a playing card, so he gave me the name King. I really liked that. He told me that something happened to Ace, and it was his fault, but someday Ace would come back. He said that Ace would take care of me then and would train me to live on my own. He said Ace would slay the dragon, Ira and then he would give me a life...he will be there for me. I was going to wait for him at home but 70 years ago, someone found out about me, and Aren told me to leave. To be safe and live my life, but I wasn't sure about any of this. I wandered around for those years and it feels like it was all worth it. Ace is back. He will help me."

"I will. I promise I will. I am sorry it took so long King." Ace said sitting up a bruised cheek and sorry expression.

"Wait wait wait. This conversation had a lot happening." Stella had both hands in the air. "Of course Ace does this, but there is a lot of questions. 300 years? How are you alive for 300 years? Who is Aren that can also live 300 years? Why does he know Ace too?"

"Well, we aren't sure if Aren is still alive." Ace mentioned. "He was just a great friend. I should use the term great loosely."

"Aren has to be dead. There is no way Ace could be here if he was still alive." Tenny added in.

"I am sure we will learn more sooner or later, and I am sure that Ace told him not to tell us about his past. The important thing is that he knows about Ira, and that we are going to stop him." Jack calmed Stella down.

"Yea, I think it might be part of my job. Ira is my real dad. I never met him, but I have heard that he is evil. He killed all the dragons and disappeared and now he wants to kill all humans. I'll give my all, but I am not that strong."

"I wouldn't say he is evil. He does have a temper at times though." Ace mentioned.

"Wait wait wait. There is a lot happening again." Stella's hands shot back in the air. "Your dad is Ira. You are a dragon?"

"Yea, I can't even downplay this...what is going on?" Jack stared into the glowing yellow eyes.

"I am half dragon." King raised his hands as his fingernails grew into claws and black scales appeared on his growing hand, until half of his forearm and entire hand looked like it belonged to a large reptile. Yellow accents shimmered on part of the fingers, but black scales barely reflecting the sun was the main contributor to the look.

"We all have pasts, and I think we all fit together regardless. Just think of him as a new member or even my son." Ace wrapped his arm around King's shoulder. "Thank you for having us, please don't question us too much."

"I make no promises." Jack laughed.

"We should finish this conversation over a meal. It is past lunchtime." Tana reminded them.

"I am starving." Tenny startled King again.

"We might not have much time in here again. Quinn sent for soldiers." Jack mentioned.

"I don't like him!" Tana pouted. Everyone began to make their way towards the kingdom, except for Stella. Luna took notice and waited on her sister staring at the green flowers resting on the ground.

"Wait." Stella called to the team. All eyes on her when she turned to face them. This was the first time Jack saw her this awkard.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so scary?" Jack asked.

"I want to say this in front of everyone, even this grave." Stella drew in a breath. "I recently met the right hand to the emperor, and he was unapologetic in who he was. He also had a role in killing one of my friends and it hurts...all of us feel it, but I felt like I learned from him, and that is why I don't want regrets...it is why I want to say this out loud.

"I want to be the friend you can all count on. I want to fight for all of your dreams and give my best doing it. That is the reflection I want at the end of my life. I want you to understand that Jack. You too King. I am glad you joined the team. I am glad you want us as friends. I want to make this especially clear to you Ace.

"Two people know more about you than we do and I don't like that. I don't like not knowing, but it doesn't change anything. I am glad you are my mentor and that is why I have this regret. I was scared when you were hurt. I was scared I couldn't help...I passed it to Jack. I was scared I would be useless, and I regret that. I should have tried harder...I should have tried everything. Count on me Ace. I want you to trust us and live free. I won't let you down again. It will be alright. You don't have to fight."

"Those are some strong words there, Queen, especially where you are standing." Tenny said.

"I think that is why they will reach him." Tana said.

Ace's eyes were wide until they softened while looking at the red cheeks of his friend. He walked over and placed his hand on her ash-coloured hair, then a pat on her shoulder. "Thank you. I will. Thank you very much."

Stella looked up to see his eyes fighting tears. Her arms wrapped against him. "Good. You can be really dumb sometimes. You can tell us what's going on."

"I know." He patted her hair. "I know I can. Bear with me a little longer. It will all make sense sometime."

"Okay."

King's face was bright red. "Is it always this intense? I think I might have made a mistake."

"I think this is a one-off time, no worries." Jack said.

"Not true! It gets emotional, especially with that blue one." Tana pointed as Jack looked away. "But don't worry, it rubs off on you. Soon you will be sprouting lines that belongs in stories too."

"You really think so? I look forward to it." King smiled from ear to ear.

"You are a weird one." Tenny ruffled his hair.

"Don't say that Mr. Tenny. I don't want to be weird."

"Noa!" Jack called. "I am not sure what adventure you are on. If it involves us or if you can hear us, but we are off. We all wish you could come with us...we are grateful to have met you...I am sorry. Thank you for everything and look out for us if you can. Good luck in your adventure, I know it will be grand. I will see you when it is my turn friend. Goodbye."

***

The room, if it could be classed as a room, was covered in white stone. It was surrounded by four walls, but the walls facing each other was barely visible to each other. The ceiling was high above and painted in deep violets and blues with sprinkles of white throughout to capture a sprawling night sky. The white stone shined from the sunlight falling from the many windows spread along the walls, with black marble accenting various locations.

The massive room filled with posts and seating was empty besides two people. A man seated on a well cushioned chair, positioned at the top of spreading stairs at the far end, and a familiar dog mask sitting on the stairs with pieces of paper in hand.

"Magna really likes to show his power. 'Hero citizens throw rebels out of Kofka kingdom. The Hummingbird's attack on the Tiger of Balt.' I mean he can influence the world with a story like this." Nine said while flipping through.

"We know what he is capable of, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth when he does something like this, but why would he make a fake report about them attacking revolutionaries? You went to meet them, what is this all about?" The man on the chair sank deeper in.

"I have no idea. We wouldn't have had to worry if Vidar wasn't so dumb. I really wanted them to come back with us. It seems that Magna had the same idea, but they turned him down. It could be why he tried to get the bounty off their head with this article. I mean you can't exactly just go execute them if they are heroes of the empire now."

"It would seem so. I never wanted to execute them in the first place, but this has me worried. Why did you want to see them? What makes them special?"

"Nothing really. I just heard they had an interesting teacher. I thought they had potential to be my successor in the future. It is about time I look for one right, but I have no idea why Magna would want them."

"Probably because you were there. They aren't stupid. Also, don't waste time on a successor unless you are planning to die. We have a lot going on. To many things are moving and I don't like it."

"What do you mean Ors? Nothing has changed?"

"Kofka was overthrown. It was something I planned to deal with eventually, but the problem is that it wasn't my order. Magna is moving if he is making himself public again with this article, and you can't fool me about these people. If you are interested, then they can be a problem. I am asking you again Nine, are they going to be a problem?"

"I mean technically they can be, but they can also be a great help and I think it looks more like they will help."

"Fine. Keep an eye on them when you can. I don't like change if I can't control it. The second things are going bad then execute all of them. I don't need wild cards. Let the guards know that they can start the meetings."

"Your highness."

"Nine. Don't make me regret sparing them, don't hide anything."

"Of course, Your highness."