When Jocelyn awoke, she was surprised to find that she had slept through the night, not once waking from a night fever.

It was the first peaceful sleep she had in years. She glanced at the bonsai tree resting on her nightstand table.

“Was that your doing?” she wondered aloud.

Jocelyn sat up in her bed and stretched. She cleared her throat and noticed that her mouth was bone dry.

Ariel, seemingly aware of Jocelyn’s thirst, walked over and handed her a cup of water.

“Thanks,” Jocelyn said, just before finishing it in one gulp.

“You want more?” Ariel asked. “Remember, we get as much water as we like here. It makes me pee a lot more.”

Jocelyn laughed. “Yeah, another cup would be great.” She rubbed the back of her neck. It felt stiff. “How long have I been sleeping for?”

“Two days.”

Jocelyn was surprised. “Seriously?”

Ariel nodded. “You like to talk in your sleep.”

“What did I say?”

“It was strange. It wasn’t in the common tongue or in English. Do you know another language?”

Jocelyn shook her head. “I don’t.”

“Weird,” Ariel said. “Anyway, we just landed a few minutes ago.”

Jocelyn looked out the window. It was true. She no longer saw an ocean of stars, but rather a sea of blue grass and foliage.

The door to their chambers opened and in walked Octava. Trailing behind her was Toby and a female Pale Guard.

“I see you’re well rested,” Octava said to Jocelyn.

“It was one of the best sleeps I’ve had in a long time,” Jocelyn admitted. “I guess I was exhausted.”

Octava smirked. “That’s rich for someone who’s never seen combat. Girl, you don’t know the meaning of the word exhausted.”

“Woman, believe me, I do,” Jocelyn snapped back.

Octava’s eyes narrowed. “You do know that I could burn you where you stand. Disrespecting an Asrai General is a capital offence.”

It was Ariel who came to Jocelyn’s defense.

“Why are you being so mean to her?”

Octava looked at the little girl and immediately her eyes softened.

“I’m just being silly,” Octava smiled as she dropped to one knee and stretched her arms out for a hug. “You know that, right?”

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Ariel nodded. “Silly billy, right? That’s what my mom used to call me.”

“Billy’s a boy’s name, isn’t it?”

Ariel shrugged. “I think it’s just a saying. My mom said us humans had a bunch of sayings, back when Earth still existed.”

Octava nodded. “Before the Xaksunians came and destroyed it,” she said.

“Yes. I hate the Xaksu.”

“As you should, Ariel.” Octava brushed the little girl’s hair back over her ear. “Stay with me and learn from me. In return, I promise you the opportunity to hurt the Xaksuinans who were responsible for your mother’s death. How does that sound?”

Ariel didn’t reply.

“It sounds horrible,” Jocelyn answered for her. “What kind of life are you offering her? One filled with revenge?”

“I’m offering her strength.”

“At the expense of her happiness?”

Octava’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps a show of force will demand your obedience and shut your mouth.”

“You’ll do no such thing.” Gerhmaine was standing at the doorway, arms folded across his chest. He looked tired. “Jocelyn Dark is under my watch now. If anyone is going to set her on fire, it’ll be me, if she gives me enough reason to.” He turned to Jocelyn. “You won’t though, will you?”

Jocelyn wanted to say something cheeky but given that Gerhmaine was protecting her from becoming barbecue, she bit her tongue.

“No,” she said.

“Good. Then if we’re all done here, let’s get off this ship, shall we? Being in the stomach of the Ysomara doesn’t exactly leave us smelling fresh and minty.”

Gerhmaine turned his eyes towards Octava. “After you, my dear.” he said, gesturing for her to leave the room.

“Out of respect for my elders, especially the old and senile ones, I insist you go first,” she said.

“I’m afraid that the second my back is turned, you’ll set poor Ms. Dark on fire which in turn means I’d need to inflict on you a consequence.”

Octava laughed. “Strong words from an inferior teacher, whose students haven’t been able to best mine for the past five years during our Contests.”

“You put too much pressure on your students to win,” Gerhmaine said. “The Silent King’s tournament is mainly an exhibition displaying the spirit of magic. It’s for fun.”

“Keep telling yourself that, you old goat.”

“So much for respecting your elders,” Gerhmaine muttered to himself.

“Your brand of magic is inferior and your students are nothing more than meat shields. It’s apparent that your abilities as a teacher have the same value as my breakfast exiting my body.”

“I didn’t know you shit gold.”

Octava was about to respond but Gerhmaine was quick to turn his back to her.

“Hey, you want to go fly a kite?” he asked Jocelyn.

She was caught off guard.

“What?”

“I checked the wind readings just a few moments ago. It’s the perfect kite flying weather.”

Octava sighed. “Conversing with you has lowered my brain cell count.” She grabbed Ariel’s hand. “Come, let’s leave these imbeciles.”

“Bye!” Ariel said cheerfully as they left the room.

“Bye,” Gerhmaine said with a wide, chipper smile.

When Octava was completely out of sight, his smile instantly turned into a frown.

“That woman…”

“Is a piece of exited breakfast?” Jocelyn finished Gerhmaine’s sentence for him.

He smirked. “You have a bit of a killer’s edge to you, don’t you?”

The word ‘killer’ struck a foul chord. Jocelyn immediately thought of Bulba Fyore.

“I am a killer,” she whispered.

Gerhmaine’s eyes glanced over her thoughtfully. “I don’t doubt that for one second. Now, how about we go fly that kite?”

His enthusiasm provided the perfect distraction for her to momentarily forget her guilt. “The Asrai have kites?”

“No, the Asrai typically don’t have time for trivial things such as kites. Prior to turning old and grey, I was a traveler. As it so happens, one of my travels was to Gaia where I picked up a few lovely keepsakes. One of them happens to be a kite.”

Jocelyn’s heart soared into her throat. “You have things from Earth that still work?”

“I do,” Gerhmaine said.

“Can I see them?”

“Hahahaha. No.”

“Why?”

“Because you might break them. They’re quite valuable now—collector’s items if you will since they can’t be purchased anymore.”

“Those things are a part of my history,” Jocelyn snapped. “They’re the only memories I have left of Earth.”

“They can’t be your memories,” Gerhmaine said. “You don’t even know what I have.”

Jocelyn scrunched up her face. He had her there.

The thought of holding something from back home made her heart hurt. She wanted to be a child again, sitting with her mother and playing cards or helping her fold laundry.

“Do you want to fly that kite or not?”

Jocelyn closed her eyes. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes.”