Lancaster follows Clyde, a royal knight as well as his friend when he was still in Caelus, down a narrow staircase spiralling endlessly downwards as he recalls the events back in the castle, where he'd seen the king.

"Lancaster," the king said through weary eyes, "just what have you been up to?"

"Nothing too heavy of a crime to have myself beheaded, your majesty," Lancaster replied with a small smile. "It has been a while."

The king chuckled. "Sure it has, and I do hope you are doing just fine in Theia," he let out a sigh, "which brings me to my question: just what are you and your friends -- even the Princess of Theia herself -- doing here? The King of Theia has given the permission -- an order, really -- to take those along with her highness into custody. You haven't done anything so as to betray your kingdom, have you?"

"Never in my life," Lancaster swore.

"And I do trust you," the king patted Lancaster's shoulder. "But an order is still an order... I am in no power to do anything against the King of Theia's personal request, as it was made upon all seven kingdoms," he sighed before continuing, "I am able to, though, offer you a place by my side. That allows you to escape your current position, since you are a capable knight."

At the king's words, Callahan frowned in the background, his fists clenched. He wore an expression of deep jealousy. Lancaster contemplated the offer, but it wasn't for his own sake, but for the others.

"What about the others?"

"Unfortunately, they have nothing to offer, unlike you. We have no choice but to keep them away from trouble until the installation's over."

"And may I ask, what are your views in regards to the formation of a new empire?"

"It is for the best of Asteria," the king replied without a second thought.

Of course, Lancaster knew from the beginning the answer wasn't going to be to his liking. "I apologise, your majesty, but I will have to decline the offer. Because right now, I have something far more important than myself."

As much as how the king is still the same person who recognises Lancaster's strengths and capabilities, in a way though, Lancaster knows for sure, the king is obviously not himself.

He has worked alongside the King of Caelus for a long time, and Lancaster recognises him as someone who loves his people and his kingdom more than himself. If there is a rebellion forming in Caelus, then the people are most certainly unhappy -- and shouldn't the king have noticed? Instead, he appears to be in full support of the man named Caecilius Black, not glancing back at all at what he's about to leave behind.

"Not regretting this, Lancaster?" Clyde asks when they reach the bottom of the stairs, a wooden door before them. He turns to face his former teammate. "An uncaged bird is one that flies the highest, towards the sky and beyond."

Lancaster raises a brow at the mention of the knights' motto. "Still that? I thought Callahan must have changed it, since he loathes every part of me."

Clyde shakes his head. "He's changed it, all right; but he shall never change our hearts," he places a fist at his chest, where his heart is. "Caelus has never been the same without you. Just remember this: Caelus, ruler of the skies and deep within; amidst the skies there's a heart of fire, and the spark lies within."

Lancaster has no clue as to why Clyde is bringing up the Kingdom of Caelus' Anthem -- with minor differences from what he remembers -- at a strange time like this, but is grateful for his words that seem warm. "Thank you," he says, and Clyde has an unreadable expression on his face. Clyde turns to open the door and leads him in.

Initially, Lancaster had the intention to ask him about the rebellion in Caelus from what they'd heard from Trevor the informant on their way here, but ultimately decides against it, just in case. He can't afford to take any further risks, considering their current situation.

He spots the cell holding Alaina and the others right away, and at the sight of him, they drop whatever topic they were discussing.

As Clyde leads Lancaster inside, he is surprised that none of them inside so much as to attempt to break out. Perhaps they are very cautious not to take the risk, afraid of what may come after if they were to try, only to fail. Before Clyde locks the bars again, he turns to glance at Lancaster one last time. "Just remember my words. The Anthem."

Lancaster frowns in confusion. "The Anthem? What of it?"

Clyde shrugs nonchalantly as if he never said anything in the first place, before leaving through the wooden door, what's left being a confused Lancaster.

"Lancaster!" he hasn't a second to think when he is called by his name. He turns to the others: Alaina with a curious expression right before him, Lloyd helping Rose to her feet, Kai standing in the corner with his arms crossed and deep in thought.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He is focused on Lloyd and Rose, wondering what has happened -- but as he finds Rose back to her feet and jumping around like her usual hyper self, he assumes all of them are doing just fine.

"What happened?" Alaina asks, and Lancaster brings his eyes along with his thoughts back to her. She's not the only one who wants to know the answer, as all eyes -- even Kai's -- then fall upon him, waiting for his answer.

"First," his eyes drift to Lloyd and Rose again, "what happened, is my question."

"She's not normal," Kai says immediately, stepping away from the wall he was leaning on. "She's got --"

"I'm perfectly fine!" Rose interrupts and starts jumping at her ground to prove it. "Thanks to Lloyd's poppy."

"That's exactly why you aren't normal. You --"

"Seriously, I'm all good," Rose insists, interrupting him again.

Lancaster, however, is curious. "What makes you say so? That she is abnormal, I mean," he narrows his eyes at Kai. "Also, how can we trust you?"

"Ah, don't you remember now, Lancaster," Lloyd says with glee, "he's the one who got caught 'being involved' in our predicament at the gates -- but that's not it. He's the one who conjured up fire back at the tavern, remember?" he strides near Lancaster, then adds in a voice only audible to him, "he's really not that bad, just don't provoke him."

But Kai is already taken aback by Lancaster's straight face and stern glare, and compared to the other three, he finds it difficult to let his guard down around Lancaster.

"His name's Kai," Alaina says quickly, trying to clear any doubts as she senses a spark of a fire.

At the mention of his name, Lancaster freezes. He blinks after a moment, convincing himself he'd misheard what Alaina had said. "What?"

"Kai. His name," she repeats, clearly confused. Lancaster is not one who asks about something more than once.

He locks his gaze on Kai, his face a look of disbelief. "Kai?"

"What?" Kai snaps, frustrated. Lancaster concludes instantaneously that he is one that's quick to anger.

"Nothing," Lancaster waves his hand, shaking off his previous thoughts. Kai reacts to this stiffly in the background. "There is something of greater importance as of now -- your highness," he turns to Alaina, "the King of Caelus is acting similarly to the King of Theia."

"As in how they caved so easily in support of the proposal?"

"Exactly."

Alaina leans against the wall, shaking her head. "What's up with these kings? Don't they realise they are risking their positions?" she sighs, not only because they are powerless as of now, but also because she still can't seem to find the reason behind her own father's irrational actions and decisions.

"They're not being themselves," Lloyd comments, like how he'd concluded for the way the King of Theia has been acting. "But as for how the other kings apart from Theia's and Caelus' are doing, we have no clue."

"And how, exactly, can one not be themselves?" Kai asks, unconvinced.

"I know the King of Theia. Very well, in fact, as the palace advisor," Lloyd answers, giving full thought about what he's saying, considering the king's usual personality and behaviour carefully. "His majesty usually takes many factors into consideration, and doesn't act irrationally -- he would ask for my advice. I'm stating a fact, that he's not his usual self. He did not even seek for my advice regarding this issue."

And Lancaster knows the King of Caelus well enough to confidently say that he isn't acting the way Lancaster would've thought he would, either. As for the remaining five kingdoms and their kings, it's still a mystery: whether the kings all agreed to it as well -- or did one or two of them opposed but still stood in minority, and how the people there have reacted and felt towards this change.

Seeing as a rebellion is forming, there must be people like them, too, who are unhappy and therefore unwilling to settle to their fate.

"He's definitely not the same father I used to know, that's all I can say," Alaina comments in a dark tone, with sadness in her voice. "Doesn't he love me? Just the morning before he had the meeting, we were having a heartwarming discussion regarding my safety. About how he didn't want to lose me, just like how we've lost my mother," she fights tears forcing to pour from her eyes at the mention of her late mother, her fingers gently touching her mother's necklace unconsciously. "Now, he has just given the order to the other kingdoms that as long as I am in custody before the installation, I won't be a bother to the ceremony. My safety is no longer his concern."

Lancaster walks to Alaina's side and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Words aren't always his strong point, but he'll be there for her when she needs him.

They are pulled away from the depressing thoughts when they hear tapping sounds on the wall. Rose is at the far back, the opposite wall from the bars, tapping at random points of the wall. "I want out of here," her tapping increases in strength and in pace, "it's so hard to breathe in here, there's hardly any air! Just like in the tavern's basement!" she stops, catching her breath as if she'd just run a marathon, then continues tapping furiously.

Lloyd covers his ears with both his hands. "Would you stop that?!" he winces at the tapping noises he can't stand.

But Rose doesn't seem to hear him, and she taps desperately and repetitively as if she can somehow make a hole through the wall. The moon shines on her through the small barred gap near the top of the wall she's tapping on.

"She's not normal!" Kai says once again to the others, approaching Rose. "You are special," he tells her, trying to calm her down, holding her arm to stop her from tapping further and possibly hurting her hands.

But at his grip, Rose only reacts more violently. She shoves him away, then continues tapping as if her life depends on it. She stops suddenly; turning to Kai, she grabs him by his shirt, her eyes pleading for help. "Please, can't you burn down the walls? I need to get out of here!" she says desperately, between breaths.

"I can't," Kai tries to get her hands off him. "I would've done so in the first place if I could -- I can't. It's a thick stone wall. And I can't burn the metal bars, they're steel," he looks up to the narrow barred gap above them, wondering what's outside. "And don't touch me," he snaps.

Alaina, Lancaster and Lloyd hurry to Rose's side and try calm her down to no avail. She drops to the stone floor on her knees, breathing heavily.

At her uneven breathing, a tiny glow lights up the cold, dark room. A light not strong enough as compared to Kai's flames, but a dim light capable of guiding them through the dark anyway, like the small glowing bodies of fireflies.

They gasp as they witness Rose's body begins glowing green.