’It is fortunate that you are well after all that has transpired, is it not, Aliana?’

Aliana said nothing to Moonlight’s comment. Though tone was difficult to make out in the sword’s whispery voice, she took the words as some attempt at a snide comment. This monster had no place commenting on her well-being. Aliana refused to acknowledge it, or the fact that Moonlight had begun to pester her more than usual as of late.

‘It would have been a shame for you to have died to that cursed creature so soon. A tragedy for you to be cut down with so much life left to live.’

A tragedy for Moonlight to lose its inevitable new body, Aliana thought bitterly. But she did not dare say that. Not with Misha sitting on the other side of the bed, stretching out her arms and legs.

“How does everything feel?” Aliana asked. One hand gripped the edge of the bed, her eyes locked on Moonlight neatly sat on a table at the other side of the bedroom. No armor accompanying it.

“Everything seems fine,” Misha said. With how bruised and burned she had been between the attack from Limalsa and the cursed creature in question, there had been concerns for the severity of her injuries, but most of them had been superficial. “The concussion hasn’t been fun, but I think I’m feeling fine now as far as that goes.” That part had been the bigger issue, leaving Misha on bed rest for what had been about a week now.

A week of dread. A week of regrets and sleepless nights. Not only for Aliana, who spent that time silently enduring Moonlight’s taunting. The loss at that village weighed heavily on everyone. What would have happened to the people there since that night? What about the shard? There was little that could even be done about it. All of Aliana’s allies in this were either wounded or susceptible to the effects of cold iron. Unless she wanted to wander in there with Moonlight and nothing else—and die for no good reason—there was no choice but to leave the village to its fate. A wretched fact, but a fact all the same.

But then, there was also the matter of that… thing. The shadowy beast, the cursed man. Aliana tucked her knees up under her chin, listening to the rain that pounded the roof and the thunder that rumbled in the distance.

It seemed that Misha had noticed some of Aliana’s concern, even if she did not yet know the exact cause. "Have you been alright, Aliana?" she asked suddenly, changing the subject away from herself.

Aliana thought how to answer that, her hand absentmindedly traveling to the fortune necklace she wore. A kind gift from Misha, really. "I'm... I'm fine," Aliana lied.

"Are you sure?" Misha asked. "Have you... spoken to Lady Elcevier or Veldin about Moonlight yet?"

"I, um..." Aliana hoped to avoid eye contact and pretend she was looking at Grey, but realized the wolf was nowhere to be found. He'd been wandering about the mansion quite a lot in this downtime, Aliana guessed from pent up energy. Wolves made poor indoor pets, after all. "I don't think it's something she can help with, Misha, like I said."

"But it's worth a try, isn't it? I don't know why you wouldn't even just bring it up..."

"Because... Because it won't help, I said," Aliana repeated more firmly. "And aside from just that, if we tell Veldin about it, he'll be obnoxious about the whole thing and tell me this is my own fault for making a deal with something like... like that." She gestured in frustration at Moonlight.

'Are you implying something about my nature, Aliana?'

"And if we tell Lady Elcevier, Veldin's for sure going to find out through her anyway."

"Veldin's not like th..." Misha began, then paused and switched to, "Well, he can be rude, yes. But he's also saved us from being trampled by Emerald. Aliana, this is your life we're talking about—"

"I know that!" Aliana shouted back, anger seeping through into her voice. Misha flinched back in surprise, ears and tail raised up high. There was a silence between the two. Immediately, Aliana wanted to apologize. To give an explanation as to why she was being so difficult about this. Instead, she asked, "Did you get a good look at that thing?"

"That thing?"

"The monster."

"Oh... the man?" Misha clarified. "Um... No. No, I think I caught a glimpse of it, but that's all I remember. I don't think you've even really told me what it looked like all that clearly, did you?"

"A horrible thing," was all Aliana felt she could say right now.

"Right... You said it didn't hurt you, though?"

Aliana shook her head. "No. It avoided me."

"Why do you think that happened? I've been wondering about it."

Aliana shrugged.

"If... Hm. If that man is cursed, then... Could it have been the bracelet?"

"What?" Aliana looked back at Misha, then down at the bracelet around her wrist. Since finding it after the attack, she’d taken to wearing it, mostly because she wasn’t sure what else to do with it. She certainly hadn’t felt like talking with Veldin or Lady Elcevier long enough to find out some use for it. With everything else on her mind, she’d almost forgotten about it.

Misha stepped across the bed to look more closely at it as well. "The fey made it to fight off that other shard's corruption, right? So, maybe it helped against a cursed monster, too. Do you think that's possible?"

"Maybe… I don't know anything about magic, you know."

Misha sighed. "You know who does know plenty about magic?"

Aliana said nothing.

"Aliana..." Misha kept her voice soft. "I know you don't trust Veldin after... after what he did. I understand."

"But you trust him." The words came out more as an accusation than Aliana had meant for them to.

Misha's whiskers twitched. "I do. I consider him my friend, just like you. But that means I trust him to help with things like this."

Aliana ran her fingers over the gilded leaves on the bracelet. Then she slipped it off her wrist and handed it to Misha.

Misha took the bracelet, but she made no comment.

Moonlight, on the other hand, clearly could not help itself. 'Do you think the arcanist will try to kill you, Aliana? Fear not, for my powers will greatly surpass even his spells with time. Let him try what he will, we shall cut him down together.'

That was it. Aliana stood up from the bed and walked to the door. "I'm going for a walk."

"Aliana—"

Misha's voice was cut off as Aliana slammed the bedroom door shut behind herself, leaving Moonlight where it lay and Misha alone.

----------------------------------------

Outside the window, the moon could be seen. Not the true moon outside, for the real sky was blanketed in the rain and thunder of the storm that coated the night. Instead, the window showed a clear night sky in an unobstructed view, looking out over a black ocean.

A gentle knock came from the door, and Veldin looked at it from where he sat on the bed. "Come in," he said. Only a moment later, there was the clicking sound of the doorknob turning, and the door swung open. Lady Elcevier was there, ducking under the doorframe to enter the room.

Her eyes scanned the room and Veldin. "Sitting fully clothed in the dark like this, one might think you have become nocturnal, Veldin." Her eyes traveled to the wall-mounted lamp nearby.

"I prefer the darkness at the moment," Veldin said before any suggestion of lighting the room could be made.

Lady Elcevier nodded. "Your eyes have become more sensitive to the light, I take it?"

"I said no such thing, Lady Elcevier, you need not worry."

"I worry when you are evasive in such a manner, Veldin."

Veldin frowned. "I did not mean for that. But I truly am quite fine."

Lady Elcevier smoothed out her dress as she sat on the end of the bed next to Veldin. "As you often say... I am sorry that you have had to go through this."

"It's a necessity. You and I both know that. You've nothing to apologize for."

Lady Elcevier looked out the window, taking a moment to say anything. "What are you doing awake at this time of night alone like this?"

"Thinking, mostly. About how we should retrieve the shard from the fey. They will likely be on guard after the... previous incident."

"Yes, I am afraid that they will..."

“That fey called you ‘competition.’”

Lady Elcevier nodded. “I suppose it was inevitable. You and I both know well that I have lived here long enough to provide the mountain fey with any opportunity to learn of my presence. Given that I am the last of this land’s nobility, and have been the only arcanist here for many years, I can understand how a being calling themselves ruler may see me as a threat. Perhaps that is why the fey wander this area as of late… I should have predicted this.”

"I don’t believe we can be faulted for being unprepared for an attack like that. But, aside from that, I was considering how we may..." Veldin trailed off, hesitant to continue for a moment. When Lady Elcevier's deep blue eyes fell upon him again, however, he found it difficult to act as if he had not meant to say something. "I... I know you said I should not worry about that man. But—"

Lady Elcevier's fingers brushed against Veldin's cheek and under his chin, ever so gently encouraging him to meet her gaze. "You wish to help him?" A small smile crossed her lips. "I understand, Veldin. You are a kind soul, and I would expect no less of you."

"I... Well..." To hear Lady Elcevier call Veldin 'kind' after these recent weeks felt wrong, but he could not bring himself deny the words she said. "Asleep or not, he should not be made to suffer like he is.”

"I wholeheartedly agree. But," Lady Elcevier interjected, "you truly do push yourself far too much. You must take care of yourself, Veldin."

Veldin sighed, looking down at his hands. "I... I know you are correct. I apologize."

"There is no need, so long as you heed my request. Which I have hoped to assist you with tonight."

With those words, Lady Elcevier held out her hand, palm facing upward. With her other hand, in a smooth motion, she ran a sharp nail through the skin of her palm, cutting through effortlessly and drawing blood that pooled in her hand.

Veldin tried not to shudder at the sight of the action. It was his fault that Lady Elceiver would need to do such a thing, yet she did not react with any pain or hesitation in the slightest. She never had, as if cutting open her own hand did little to pain her. Instead, as graceful and unflinching as ever, she held her hand out to Veldin.

"I am sorry to make you do this, Lady Elcevier," Veldin said, eyeing the dark liquid in Lady Elcevier's hand.

"Oh, do not be sorry for me. You should know by now that this is no trouble to me. So, please," Lady Elcevier moved her cupped hand up to Veldin's chin and said, "drink."

And Veldin did, as always, as was necessary. He allowed Lady Elcevier's skin to touch his lips and he tasted the blood that flowed from her hand. As odd as it felt to use such a word, it was... refreshing. Not at all like it had been when he'd tasted the blood of that harpy woman—that had been the thick and unpleasant taste of iron, spurred on by a moment of fury and hatred. By emotions so severe that Veldin regretted them even now. But this was different. Lady Elcevier's blood was, and always had been, rejuvenating. It tasted cold, and clean like water from a pure spring. It was... delightful.

"Do you feel better now, then?" Lady Elcevier asked when she finally pulled her hand away, smiling warmly at Veldin in the darkness of the room. Though blood remained staining the skin of her hand, there was barely any more than that, the wound she had sliced open already healed.

"I was not feeling ill at the moment to begin with, truly," Veldin said. "But, still... Yes. Yes, I do. Thank you, Lady Elcevier."

"That's wonderful." Again, Lady Elcevier's hand made it's way to Veldin's cheek, and before he could say anything to answer her, she leaned forward. Their lips met and Veldin closed his eyes, simply enjoying Lady Elcevier's presence in that moment.

Then, Lady Elcevier pulled back, sitting up once more and saying, "I should let you sleep for the night. It is growing quite late."

"Is it?" Veldin asked, disappointed at the thought of Lady Elcevier leaving so soon. "You should stay for a while—if you would like to, of course. Shouldn't we both take this time to rest? You've been working hard as well."

"That is quite sweet of you, Veldin, it really is. But I do have other matters I should be attending to. You, however..." Lady Elcevier allowed her gaze to linger on Veldin a moment before she said, "You should remain here, and leave the matter of that man to me as we discussed, do you not agree?"

Veldin wanted to disagree. But, staring into Lady Elcevier's eyes, those words simply would not come to him. "If you insist, Lady Elcevier. I shall remain here, then."

Lady Elcevier smiled. "Good. Then, do have a good night, dear Veldin." With that, she stood, making her exit and shutting the door behind herself.

Veldin stared at the door for a while after that, thinking. Perhaps Lady Elcevier was right. Perhaps it would be in his best interest to focus on rest while he and his companions had this chance. Soon, after all, they would need to seek out the fey once more in some way or another. There would be fewer opportunities to catch their breath at that point. Veldin stood from the bed, accepting that he should ready himself for sleep for now.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Another knock at the door interrupted that thought, however. It was not the soft and delicate knocking of Lady Elcevier’s hands. In fact, the sound came from too low to the ground to have been anyone but Misha, Veldin could tell that quite easily. He felt a sense of irritation at the disturbance, even if he had grown quite accustomed to Misha’s company over the endeavors of these past weeks. The fact was that he was in little mood to speak to anyone, in fact.

“Veldin?” Misha’s voice was muffled behind the door, followed by another knock. “Are you awake? There was something I wanted to ask you about.”

Veldin sighed. “Is it just you?”

“What? Um… Yes.” Misha sounded confused, but that answer would suffice. Misha was tolerable and even pleasant at times. But Aliana’s judgmental glares or aggravating comments were another thing altogether.

Misha stood before Veldin in the doorway, alone just as she’d said, lacking even the wolf that followed her so closely most of the time. She held something in her hands, and Veldin noted that is was a flower-patterned bracelet of silver.

“Does this need to be asked now?” Veldin asked impatiently, leaning against the wall while he stared down at Misha.

“Well, I figured you would still be awake,” Misha said. Her attention drifted over Veldin’s clothes. “And… Aliana was acting strange.”

“Is that my problem?”

Misha ran a hand over the whiskers on one side of her face. “It might be something you can help with. But…” She shook her head. “Not for now, I guess. I wanted to ask about this instead.” She held up the bracelet.

“Should you not be in bed, given you suffered a concussion?”

Misha narrowed her eyes at Veldin. “Are you in a position to ask that?”

“I am fully recovered, I should let you know.”

“Right now, yes.” Misha shook the bracelet in her hand. “Veldin, what do you know about this?”

Veldin reached down and took the bracelet, turning it over in his hand to examine it. It was much too large to fit over Misha’s wrist. “Aliana has been wearing this, has she not? Some trinket you picked up while you were away, I take it?” Though even as Veldin said that, he noted the way the bracelet sparkled and gleamed so brightly even with little light.

“The fey was wearing it before… everything that happened. She said it was to stop the shard’s corruption from getting to her, I think.”

“And given she has declared herself a tyrannical ruler of the land, we can see how successful that attempt was.”

“But that monster didn’t attack Aliana. She said it avoided her entirely.”

Veldin tried to recall. Much had happened in the span of a brief few moments, and many memories of the event had blurred together into a panicked mess. He had paid less attention to the fey than keeping Aliana from being killed by a monster, and mainly remembered waking up on the floor afterward, so he easily could have missed that part.

“At first, I thought my necklace might have helped her, but considering what the fey made the bracelet for, maybe that helped instead? I’m not certain.”

“Necklace. That wooden bauble?”

“It was a gift from Latalia, in the earthcraft shop!” Misha sounded mildly offended. “It’s supposed to help. And for your information, I’m trying to make more for the rest of us. I’m just having trouble finding some of the ingredients… Or remembering what all of them were without my book.”

“Earthcraft is new era nonsense,” Veldin muttered, rolling his eyes.

Misha’s whiskers twitched. “Is it?”

“Earthcraft is a new practice attempted by those who believe they can pull natural arcane power from the land itself. That is, however, an oxymoron created by hopeful fools who are desperate for some more accessible means to empower themselves than the ways of feyish magic or Draconic blessings. Any benefits provided by earthcraft ‘spells’ are typically in the form on tinctures that use quite mundane herbs and other ingredients with medicinal benefits.”

“But–“

“Proper knowledge and usage of magic requires either great skill and talent, or many years of intense study,” Veldin continued. “One does not gain such power so easily, Misha.”

Misha was silent. Perhaps that had been harsh, Veldin realized.

“I… did not mean to imply that…” Veldin struggled for words to follow up to that. Should he apologize? He had only spoken the truth. He would rather Misha not dedicated too much of her energy to something with no proven benefit.

“Do you know much about earthcraft?” Misha asked, her tone sharp.

“Hm? Well, I have not studied it myself, however, I–“

“Then what do you know? I think it is still worth trying. If it’s magic is real, all the better. And if not, I don’t think making a few ‘baubles’ will cause us any harm. I’ll trust your opinions on feyish magic, thank you, Veldin.”

“Oh… Right.” Veldin nodded. He gestured for Misha to enter the room and then stepped back inside himself. “Then allow me to rephrase—to date, there is no evidence that earthcraft spells can produce effects powerful enough to have directly saved Aliana from that beast. However, this bracelet was likely made to combat rotted magics, which I would expect to be the origin of that man’s curse as well.”

Veldin approached his desk on the other side of the room, laying out the bracelet on its surface and sitting down in the accompanying chair.

“A moment, please,” Veldin said. He traced his fingers over the gilded strands of the bracelet and shut his eyes. He spoke Feyish words, “Les thrin ver,” a spell and phrase which, roughly translated, commanded any magic in the bracelet to make itself known. And, after several seconds of focus, he felt the bracelet’s magic do just that. The ‘sensation’ of it would have been difficult to put into words, and was perhaps more akin to a mental sensation such as emotion. Veldin could feel an air of feyish magic reaching out from the bracelet, well enough to understand its purpose. A spell of purification and protection, one meant to ward off… something. It was not powerful, not enough for the corruption of a Dragon’s scale. But it told Veldin enough. He opened his eyes. “You are correct, Misha.”

“I am?”

Veldin held up the bracelet. “The effects of this bracelet saved Aliana from that creature’s attack. It may not have worked as the fey intended, but it accomplished something for us, at the very least.”

“Could it get rid of that man’s curse?”

That was where this conversation was heading all this time, wasn’t it? Veldin considered that. He had agreed to leave that matter to Lady Elcevier. Perhaps he should alert her in the morning to the possibilities this bracelet possessed. Even as he thought that, however, he felt something was not right. He studied the bracelet further in his hand, trying to place what it was that was bothering him.

“Veldin?” Misha asked after that lull in the conversation.

Rather than answer, however, Veldin stood from his seat and made his way to the door.

“Wait, Veldin? Where are you going?” Misha asked, running to follow him.

“Fetch your bow, Misha,” Veldin said. “I will need your help in the event I am making a poor decision.”

----------------------------------------

Aliana tried to step softly through the mansion as she checked the doors she came across. The last thing she wanted was to attract any attention on this search. She sighed with some relief when she opened what must have been the tenth door she’d looked through, seeing not only the library she’d hoped to find in here, but also that the room looked to be absent of any other people.

A large table with a few chairs took up the open floorspace near the front of the room, and Aliana saw rows of heavy bookshelves standing tall throughout the room. ‘Library’ truly was the appropriate word for it, as the sitting room on the first floor paled in comparison. While that had been a room of comfort and welcoming with a few shelves of books for idle reading, this was a chamber of elegant decor and, primarily, great knowledge. Aliana could tell just from glancing at the heavy tomes in this room’s shelves that years of knowledge accumulated by once powerful nobility had all gathered here.

She stepped into the room, eyes wide as she looked around. Where did she begin? She wasn’t a scholar, she was anything but. Perhaps some knowledge would be tucked away here that would help her escape from Moonlight’s grasp, or so she had prayed, but anything useful of the sort must have been buried under decades of texts. She sighed and told herself she had to begin somewhere.

Aliana started with the nearest bookshelf. Judging by what little she could glean from the titles and from flipping through a few of the books, most of the ones here were focused on the topics of history and agriculture. That was likely useless to her. Her heart sank as she checked other shelves, finding others covering art and music, more history, medicine, any number of things that were still of no help. And, when she thought she did stumble upon a tome that covered magic, or a history of the fey at least, she looked through the pages only to find the contents were dizzingly too high-level for someone such as herself. What did half of these words even mean?

Aliana placed the most recent book she held back on the shelf, disappointment drowning out the awe she had initially felt at the sight of this room. This was proving to be a hopeless search very quickly. She took a step back, hoping to spot something more helpful on the shelf, but felt her hand brush up against something warm and furry behind. She gasped and whipped around, but relaxed when she saw it was only Grey. The door to the library was still open, she realized, and he must have slipped in without her noticing.

“Where have you been?” Aliana demanded playfully, glad to see the wolf again. She scratched behind his ear and his tail wagged though his face remained as stony as always. “Hey, you don’t know how to read, do you? If you could, I bet you’d stand about as much a chance as I do finding what I’m looking for in here.”

Grey turned towards the nearest bookshelves, sniffed a few of the book covers, then blew some air out through his noise.

“Thought as much,” Aliana said, petting along Grey’s back. “Appreciate the thought, though… Hey. Do you understand what I told Misha? About… About Moonlight?”

Grey, mouth shut and showing no other response, met Aliana’s gaze.

Aliana sighed. “Grey… I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do. I know what Misha said, that I should tell Veldin or Lady Elcevier. She has a point, sure. If there’s anything in here that can tell me what Moonlight is, I’m probably not going to recognize it. But…” Aliana found the words coming with more challenge as she continued, “Misha doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

Grey whimpered.

“I know you like her, I don’t mean to say anything bad about her,” Aliana hurriedly added. “But she trusts them. And I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She leaned back against the library’s table, rubbing the side of her head with one hand. “You saw what Veldin did. You didn’t like it anymore than I did. But Misha still trusts him after that. They’re friends, for… some reason. I don’t know how Veldin of all people makes friends. Or… or whatever it is that’s happening between him and Elcevier.”

Grey tilted his head and sat on the floor.

“What’s Misha going to… What’s she going to say if I tell her that thing was the monster that took Seraphim? Do you think she’s going to doubt Elcevier at all? Why was that thing here? Why is she the one who found that man?

“I just…” Aliana felt tears building up in her eyes and she blinked them away. “This isn’t right. Things here aren’t right. Misha wants to tell Veldin and Elcevier about Moonlight, she trusts them to help, she thinks they can help, but... What if they’re hiding something? Or, what if trying to save me is a waste of time? If I die without finding Seraphim, then nothing we do will have been worth it, Grey.” Tears broke free when Aliana said that, and a lump formed in her throat as she held back a sob. “I’m going to die, I need to do something worthwhile.”

Grey leaned forward, pressing his muzzle against Aliana’s hand.

Aliana wiped the tears away. “Wh—what is it?” She ran her hand along the side of Grey’s face but he continued to push his nose into her palm. Aliana finally held her hand out. Grey opened his mouth and let something cold and covered in saliva drop into Aliana’s palm.

“Ugh.” Aliana recoiled slightly from the unexpected sensation of wolf drool in her hand, holding the object between her fingers and shaking it in the hopes of drying it off. It was a key. “Where did you find this?”

Grey huffed.

Aliana raised an eyebrow at the animal. “Have you been scouting this place out?”

Grey’s tail wagged.

“Well…” Aliana shrugged. Interpreting Grey was usually Misha’s job, but she thought she understood well enough. “Alright. What’s it for, then? Any idea? C’mon, show me.”

Grey turned to the door of the library, walking away to lead her.

----------------------------------------

Veldin looked down at the man sleeping on the bed. Something about seeing him nagged at the back on Veldin’s mind, the same something that had prompted him to come here in the first place, but why? Focusing directly on that sensation yielded no answers.

“Is this safe?” Misha wondered aloud, her bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. She stood in the open doorway of the guest room, her ears raised straight up and her whiskers twitching.

“The risk to ourselves should be minimal,” Veldin said, trying not to place too much emphasis on the word ‘should’ in that sentence. “I will observe the magic of his curse before waking him. If there are any signs of danger, we will not proceed.”

Misha nodded. “If you’re certain…”

And, of course, the part Veldin did not say aloud in this moment, was that he should be able to place the man back to sleep should problems arise, so long as Misha could assist in delaying the cursed beast in any way. Again, he tried not to place much emphasis on that particular word even in his thoughts. Instead, Veldin sat on the edge of the bed and slipped the bracelet over the man’s wrist. He paused for a moment, his fingers lingering over the gloves that covered the sleeping man’s hand.

The man wore gloves. Why did that detail stand out?

Veldin pushed the thought away and tried not to let it bother him, it was not important. He shut his eyes, hands still resting on the bracelet and the man’s wrist, and again spoke the spell, “Les thrin ver.”

He waited, letting the spell’s magic examine the power in the bracelet and the curse. There was a dark energy around the man, a feeling of menace and suffocation like a horrible cloud. Rotted magic. Sensing it in this way stung, like pin pricks tearing at Veldin’s mind. But it faded quickly. Once more, Veldin could feel the purifying magic of the bracelet, and the cloud of rotted magic shrunk back as if recoiling in terror. It retreated, its presence growing fainter, until it settled into the man’s chest like an animal sleeping in its burrow. The magic was not gone. But Veldin could tell the effects of the bracelet were holding it back.

Veldin opened his eyes, staring down at the bracelet. Would that do it? Would that work?

“Is it working?” Misha asked softly, as if afraid to disturb the situation at hand.

Veldin was uncertain of how to answer. But he had to confirm. He moved a hand over the sleeping man’s forehead, focusing the energies of another spell.

“Veldin?” Misha spoke up again, worry creeping into her voice.

Then Veldin spoke quietly in Feyish, uttering the spell that would release this man from his slumber.

There was movement. The man shifted ever so slightly and stirred. Misha stepped back and raised her arrow to her bow. But there was no threat.

The man, grogginess and confusion apparent on his face, looked around the room slowly with striking deep green eyes. But that exhaustion faded in place of bewilderment the moment he saw Veldin, and he sat up in a hurry. “V… Velvet?” he said, his voice filled with disbelief.

Velvet?

“Velv… Veldin, it’s… is it you? Is it really…?”

Veldin searched for a response in his mind. Now he heard his name spoken by a person he, as far as his memory would allow him to believe, had never seen before. There was no time for him to think of an answer, however, before he suddenly found himself pulled into an embrace, his face buried into the dark-haired man’s shoulder.

“V–Veldin, I thought… I–I thought you…” Words broke down between gasping breaths that turned to sobs. One of the man’s arms was wrapped firmly around Veldin’s back and gripped into his coat, finger’s of the other hand intertwining with Veldin’s hair. Some of the fingers were stiff and unmoving, though Veldin barely noticed as the man struggled to say, “I thought you–you were dead…”

Veldin’s mind raced as he tried to sort out what was happening, how he was supposed to react, what he was supposed to say. He hadn’t expected—he wasn’t prepared for—

“W-wait…” Veldin squirmed, then instead gripped the man’s sides and shoved him away. “Stop!”

The man froze. He looked confused. Hurt.

Misha suddenly appeared between the two, climbing up onto the bed. “Wait, wait!” she said. “I’m sorry, please understand. There’s, well, a lot to explain. But Veldin doesn’t remember anything. He doesn’t, um… He doesn’t know who you are.”

“Doesn’t…?” the man mumbled at first, trying to understand. “Veldin? Is that—is it true? It’s me. Remerick.”

Veldin shook his head, standing up from the bed and backing away.

“What’s she…” Remerick said, his voice shifting from desperation to anger. “What’s she done to you?”

She? She? That question finally gave something for Veldin to respond to. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that monster. Elcevier.”

----------------------------------------

Stairs led up, spiraling upward through one of the mansion’s spires. Aliana did not like this. It was dark here, as this whole part of the structure was enclosed to the outside world. Light from the floor below helped just enough for her to see the outlines of the stairs at first, but little other detail could be made out and she found herself gripping onto Grey’s fur with one hand for help navigating the staircase. She stumbled periodically, hoping the noise of the storm outside would help to cover the sound in the event Veldin or Lady Elcevier were nearby.

When the stairs finally stopped and opened up into a landing, the light from below was completely blocked out and Aliana stumbled forward. She caught herself on a door, identifying it as such from the feeling of a frame around it.

“Is this it?” she whispered, and she felt Grey nudge the hand she held the key in. Why had he brought her here? What had he found?

Aliana looked down and saw the faintest sliver of light slipping through a crack under the door. She felt around, finding the doorknob and the lock below it, then fumbled to blindly fit the key into the lock. Why would Elcevier not have lights up here? Aliana wondered if the Fontaine family could see in the dark.

Finally, the key slipped into the hole. Aliana turned it, and it clicked. The door was unlocked. Her heart began to beat faster, she knew she was not supposed to be doing this. But she reached for the handle and opened the door.

The room beyond was some sort of observatory. A huge telescope like Aliana had once seen on display in an extravagant Indervel shop stood at one side of the room. At the other, a stretch of canvas was laid out on an easel. It looked like it could have been a map at first glance, but in fact displayed a number of stars. Large, round windows were interspersed through the wood and tile roof, providing a clear view of the night sky. Had Aliana been inclined to look further at it, she may have noted that it truly was the night sky, the real one, not the illusions of Elcevier’s windows. But she was not inclined to look at that, for the source of the light lay before her.

Atop a desk sat a glass dome display case on a wooden base. Magic symbols were written around the base of it in ink. A small creature was curled up inside. It was no larger than a cat, and, though it bore one head rather than two, the creature was a near exact counterpart of any depiction of Opal. Bright light shone from their glimmering white scales.

“Seraphim,” Aliana said under her breath, her grip on Grey’s fur tightening. She moved to take a step into the room. She stopped, however, when she heard a voice behind her.

“You should not be here, Aliana.”

Lady Elcevier’s voice.