Micheal watched with barely concealed disdain as their environmental suits were taken away. He and four of his fellows were detained in the town's jail. He had watched the shrouded that had captured him arrive at the town, almost immediately met with the mayor, and explained what they had found. Of course, the mayor had professed to know nothing of the Revolution base under his town.
Upon hearing that, Micheal had almost scoffed out loud. The man hadn't wanted to know. He could have figured it out with only a little effort. But he shut his eyes and prayed that none of this would happen during his tenure. Every mayor this town had had since the Revolution arrived had done the same.
Micheal felt no camaraderie for these men and women that bent the knee to shrouded, praising them for the smallest thing. The mayor's endless thanks and praise upon hearing how the shrouded children 'saved' his town was sickening. They hadn't done any of that out of altruism. They had been as much under threat by the Magma Titan as any of these normal humans here. Those four had been purely selfish and self-serving, just like every shrouded.
Now he was in a jail cell, soon to be shipped off for interrogation. Micheal wasn't even slightly worried. The Revolution had been working in this town for years. They had agents everywhere. He and his fellows wouldn't be in these cells by the time an ethership came to pick them up. Which was good because Micheal had some information the Revolution leadership needed to hear.
{}
Lily let out a sigh of relief. The hot shower had been just as relaxing as she had hoped it would be. If there was one thing she lamented about her shroud and splinter, it was the inability to create hot water on demand. Maybe another splinter…?
Lily flinched, her mind flashing to searing lines traced along her back. Almost reflexively, she curled inward. Then she relaxed. It had been a decade, and the memories stayed with her. It seems a flame splinter was not in her future, no matter how much she liked hot showers.
A wave of disappointment washed over her before she pushed it off. She wanted to be over her past pains. Every day was an effort to push them aside and not dwell in the past. She had hoped, after so many years of being essentially left alone, that she could confidently say she was cured. That the memories no longer bothered her and she was as mentally sound as any normal, untraumatized person her age.
That hadn't happened. She was better now than five years ago and so much better than when the memories were still fresh, and she actively feared every day when she woke up. But it wasn't gone. The pain still lingered in the quiet moments like now, when she felt whole and undamaged. That's when they returned to remind her that she was still broken and hurting.
She didn't let it bother her. After this long, she had years of practice setting the past aside and focusing on moving forward. And it worked, every time. No matter how much the memories bothered her, focusing on where she was now, in a fancy hotel on some distant continent in a suite with real, actual friends that cared about her, as one of the most promising shrouded of her generation, was enough to make those memories fade away after a long, quiet moment.
Of course, that was all because her life had turned around so much. She dreaded to think what kind of place she would be in if her situation hadn't changed. She liked to think she could still have the positive, proactive outlook she managed, but her secret fear was she would be just as broken as she used to be.
Her melancholy shift in thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. It would have to be one of her friends, as no one else was allowed past the communal living space all the rooms connected to. The hotel staff would only go that far unless specifically requested or after they left. It was probably Cat. Lily couldn't think of a reason Caeden or Erik would come to her room.
So she was surprised when she opened up to find Caeden looming over her. He looked just as surprised to see her, which made no sense at all. That was until his eyes snapped upward.
"Ahhh, sorry. I guess you weren't expecting me, huh?" He sounded embarrassed.
Lily had no idea what he meant until she looked down at herself. She was in the hotel bathrobe, which wasn't any more revealing than what she normally wore but was more informal than her school robe. And also not something she wanted Caeden to see her in. At all. "O-oh. Yes, I thought you were Cat. I'll get changed."
Then she shut the door in his face without waiting for a reply. Which only increased the blush steadily growing on her face and down her neck. She wanted to scream. In only a few seconds, she had gone from perfectly relaxed to more flustered than she could remember ever being.
Moving as quickly as she could, she switched from the bathrobe to her school one, desperately wishing for the time to fix her wet hair, but knowing that Caeden was likely waiting right outside. She would just have to deal with it. It took her under a minute from closing the door to opening it again, this time properly dressed.
"Sorry about that. What did you want to talk about?" She tried to give a carefree smile, but her anxiety probably ruined the look.
"Ah," Caeden looked just as awkward as she felt, which somehow made her feel a little better. "Can we talk in your room? I don't want the other two eavesdropping."
"Sure?" Lily had no idea why that would matter, but it's not like this was her bedroom at school, her private space. This was just some hotel room. Moving away from the door, she walked over to sit down on the edge of the bed. The room had a chair set in front of a vanity, which Caeden occupied after closing the door.
He sat down, not looking at her, while tapping his fingers together. Lily watched him for a moment. The movement of his hands was uneven, each finger not having a partner to bounce off of. Idly, Lily thought about how often she forgot that Caeden was missing half of his hand. He was so competent without those two fingers that it simply never came up.
"So?" Her nerves grew the longer she sat there, though seeing his own nervousness made her feel sympathetic rather than annoyed by his silence.
"Sorry. This is just…awkward. I'm not sure what exactly to say." Caeden shrugged, giving her an apologetic half-smile.
"Well, you're making me nervous, so maybe just try starting? I have no idea what you're here about." Lily suggested. Caeden never acted like this. The anticipation was killing her.
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"Sorry," Caeden sighed. "I'm not sure what to say."
"You already said that." Lily huffed. Honestly, this was ridiculous!
Caeden's head shot up, and he seemed to internalize what she said. "You're right. Sorry, my thoughts are going in circles."
"Just spit it out; whatever it is can't be that bad," Lily said.
"It's not so much that it's bad, but I'm not sure how you'll react, and it makes me nervous," Caeden admitted.
"Fine, I promise not to freak out. Does that make it better?" Lily just wanted him to talk already!
"Yeah, I guess." Caeden took a deep breath. "Here goes. Remember how we had that conversation a few months ago about my interest in you?"
Immediately, every ounce of anxiety Lily had lost watching Caeden flounder returned ten-fold. "Yes."
"Well, I left it alone after you said you didn't feel the same way, which is perfectly fine." He hurriedly rushed out the last part. "But Erik mentioned something while we were waiting for you and Cat to do surveillance in the Revolution camp."
Somehow, Lily's anxiety spiked even further. "Y-yes?"
"Well, he mentioned that sometimes you look at me a certain way," Caeden said slowly. "I figured he was wrong, considering what you told me before, but I thought I'd ask again anyway."
He took a deep breath. "Lily, are you interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with me? If the answer is still no, that's fine, and I'll tell Erik to drop it. I don't want to annoy you or keep asking you this when you already told me no, so I can understand if this is annoying. I don't mean to be pushy-"
"Caeden, shut up!" Lily exclaimed, both amused and frustrated by the endless string of apologetic and respectful words he kept throwing out.
"S-Sorry." Caeden stammered. "I guess I'll go."
He stood to leave.
"No, you doofus." Lily sighed. "I meant stop apologizing, not for you to go. Seriously, I don't understand how you can lack so much confidence."
A look of confusion stole across Caeden's face. "I don't understand what you mean."
Lily wanted to punch him. Really hard. She didn't want to talk about or explain her statement; it had been made in the heat of the moment and borne from her frustration with the whole situation. "I'm talking about this." She waved her hand in his direction.
"That feels vaguely insulting."
Lily laughed. "Sorry, maybe a bit, but that's not what I meant. I don't know if you know this, but you're insanely popular, Caeden."
"I'm aware." He nodded.
Lily shook her head. "I don't think you are. Cae, there are a hundred girls out there that would be very interested in having this conversation with you. Basically, half of the students at the Academy, and even more besides that. I just don't understand why you're having that conversation with me."
Now Caeden looked thoroughly confused. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't I want to be with you?"
"Don't be obtuse." All her nervousness evaporated into anger. "You know about my family and my brother especially. Plus, I'm not exactly the most mentally sound person ever. There are a thousand girls that would be so much easier to date, with much less baggage attached. You have no reason to pick me over them."
"Is that what you seriously think?" Caeden asked, his expression somber.
"Yes! So stop asking me, and go find a nice girl that doesn't have all these problems." Lily insisted.
"Lily."
She didn't realize that Lily had stopped looking at him the second she started her spiel. Now, when he simply said her name and nothing else, she looked back at him. She was startled by the serious expression she found there. She had never seen Caeden look so intense.
"You're wrong."
"W-what?"
Caeden stared her down. "You're wrong. You have no idea how I see you. The way your brother acts is not your fault, and you're not responsible for him or the rest of your family. I would have to be a coward to let that deter me. In fact, the way you stand up to him despite everything that's happened to you, which I still don't know the details of, shows how strong you are. I admire that. You may say you're broken or messed up, but I've never seen it. Lily, you've always been the smartest, most devoted, and capable person I've ever known. You outshine everyone else. You're kind, caring, and positive in a way that I struggle to emulate."
He reached out and gripped her hand. "I don't want someone simple or who would be easier to have a relationship with. I want you. I was the one who was concerned you wouldn't want me. I'm just a simple ethersmith from the middle of nowhere that has no idea how to deal with the problems of the families. I thought it would be hard for you to accept me because we've lived such different lives. But if your objection is 'my problems are too big', then all I have to say is, no. I've dealt with Ander, and I'm sure we can deal with the rest of your family together. I promise."
Lily bit her lip., staring at her hand holding his. She felt awful. Caeden saw things in her that weren't there. She wasn't strong; she barely survived her childhood. Her family would crush them just because they could, just out of spite. But she wanted the companionship, the caring that he was offering. Was it worth putting him in harm's way just for her selfish desires?
"Oh my shroud! You two are so serious!" Lily's door burst open, and Cat charged in, quickly followed by Erik. Both Caeden and Lily had been too focused on their conversation to notice their friends standing at the door, listening in. "You like him; he likes you! Figure the rest out later. By all the unshrouded gods, I cannot deal with all the tension you two have going on! Date already!"
Caeden and Lily stared at her, dumbfounded. Erik was right behind her, nodding along emphatically. They looked at each other. Then they burst out laughing.
"I think she might be a little right. Maybe we're taking this all a bit too seriously." Caeden admitted sheepishly.
"To be honest, I don't even know if the rest of my family will care. My father stopped talking to me years ago. The only one I know will have a problem is Ander, and you can handle him." Lily acknowledged.
"Exactly!" Cat huffed. "Both of you are borrowing trouble you don't need. It's dating. You're not getting married! Just relax."
They ignored her.
"I'm obviously willing if you are." Caeden stared into Lily's grey eyes.
"Ok." She whispered.
Cat and Erik cheered. "Finally!"
{}
Micheal watched as the door to his cell opened. Less than a day. That was how long it took.
"The fires burn." A voice whispered from the dark hallway.
"And the filth is cleansed." He whispered back.
"Welcome back, brother." A figure stepped into his room, barely visible in the half-light coming from the cell's tiny window. "We've secured the release of all five brothers currently held here. We must move quickly. Our escape window is small, considering the presence of a True Shroud."
Micheal jumped to his feet, ready to go. He had been waiting for this, and not just to secure his release. "We need to return to HQ as fast as possible. I have critical information concerning a young shrouded my team encountered. He may be able to interfere with the disruption event."
The figure immediately paused. "How do you know about that? None of the rank and file on this continent have the clearance."
"Because I was the man in charge of monitoring the source for the key element. And the shrouded in question touched it without dying. So we need to go. Now."