“You haven’t told him yet?” Amelia asked surprised.

Darius glared at both the girls; his face stricken with a look of utter annoyance. Being so close to his end goal, he’d forgotten just how garbage his luck tended to be. Seemed like now wouldn’t be any different.

“I pl-planned to,” Krista stuttered, “I planned to right now!”

“Should I just go in without you?” Darius asked already looking for exploitable entrances.

“I wouldn’t try it,” Krista explained. “More than likely there will be runes along the wall intended for catching little sneaks like you.”

“Runes? Not important right now, just please tell me that you aren’t wanted in New Dawn,” Darius whimpered.

“How did you know?!” Krista cried.

Before Darius could pass out with shock, Amelia interrupted, “She’s not a criminal. She just comes from an… affluent family. One that would like to see her return and has the influence to have the guards assist them.”

Putting it like that, Darius greatly calmed down. “Seriously? That’s it? I won’t be labeled a criminal if I’m seen with you two?”

“Well…” Amelia reluctantly responded. “That’s definitely a possibility.”

Darius held his head low once more. “Then we need a plan on how to get inside. Any information that you can share with me on the guards?”

“Seems like a small squad,” Krista said. “General training dictates a diverse skill set, so I’m guessing three of them have Augmentation, three have Elemental Affinities, two will have Relativity, two will have Life, one with a Mental, and maybe one with a Wave Affinity.”

“That helps in making things so much worse, thanks,” Darius retorted sarcastically. “I can work with that though. Also need to remember that Amelia’s here with us, got to make sure to accommodate her.”

“No need,” Amelia interrupted. “I have both an ID and a lack of wanted pictures. I’ll be fine just walking in myself.”

“Fair.” Darius went deep into thought attempting to think of a good way inside.

“Actually, I think that I have a way inside… Darius, hello?” Krista tried in vain to communicate her points to Darius. His mind, deep in thought, left him completely oblivious to any further discussion with the two girls.

Sensing that Darius wouldn’t react to anything they did, Amelia choose to take this chance to speak her mind to Krista.

“Why are you so adamant about helping Darius anyway?” Amelia said. “You told me that you’d never go back to New Dawn until you were the most renowned warrior in Stellar. You’ve already done more than enough for Darius, so why are you putting yourself at risk like this?”

Krista never really thought much on that, it just didn’t feel right to leave him. Maybe it was the time they spent together, maybe it was because he was so driven, and Krista wanted to see him succeed. Whatever the reason, Krista didn’t really want to leave him alone, even once they got inside.

“He’s fun to be around,” Krista relented. “I like being around him. He needs me- us and I want to be there to help him, not much more than that.”

Krista spoke exactly what was on her mind. With nothing to hide from her friend, she spoke from the heart. What Krista didn’t expect was for the normally clueless Amelia to read further into herself than she intended to share.

“Oh! I see what’s going on here. I always kind of assumed, but I thought you were already smitten with that boy from Journey.”

Krista could feel her face immediately flush, but before she could explode, Amelia shushed her as she rocked Fierce to sleep. Krista held her breath as her face continued to get hotter, that is until she flopped down to the ground from embarrassment.

“But Darius, really?” Krista said plainly. “I must be out of my mind. He’s a nice guy and all, but he’s a bit… insane, the word I’m looking for is insane. Need I remind you that he jumped off a cliff to mount a griffin? Really now,” she said with a smile before her face dropped back into a frown, “Do you think me and him could ever even work?

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Amelia smirked and raised an eyebrow, “Sounds like you have a type. You said very nearly the same thing about Damien when you came back from Journey. Only with more tears and less griffins.”

“Wow, tugging at old heartstring. Well, look where that’s brought me. I mean, I haven’t even seen the guy in six years. It’s getting harder every day to remember what he even looks like, the only thing I’ll never forget are those beautiful purple eyes.”

It was only when a bit of drool found its way out of her mouth that Krista realized what she had said. She took this time to bury her face into the grass underneath her.

“And that’s why you never get in-between a New Dawn woman and her man,” Amelia shrugged.

“Well, what about you? You and Darius seemed to get along well. Almost too well!” A quiet groan from Fierce reminded Krista to keep her voice down.

“Of course we get along. He’s my student, and Darius loves hearing anything he can about wattiez. I think he’s the type that just loves to learn new things. He catches on quick, and he listens to everything I have to say. Honestly, it makes teaching him a bit too easy.”

The fact that she was losing in a conversation to Amelia weighed heavily on Krista. “Darius, have you thought of anything yet?”

Wanting the end their horrid conversation, Krista tried to point focus onto Darius. An obvious excuse to Amelia, but one she didn’t bother to point out.

“A few,” he responded. “I’ve counted six blind spots based on several of the guard’s patrol routes. Of course, we’ll have to decide on the best approach, I think we should-”

“Never mind,” Krista interrupted, stunning a confident Darius. “Whatever you’re thinking of, it’s probably just not going to work. See that piece of protruding earth?”

She was pointing at what looked like a small ant hill. It completely inconspicuous and something Darius had paid no mind to before. Even now as Darius stared at it, he was completely unsure why Krista called his attention towards it. Maybe because it was placed in one of the blind spots Darius had seen earlier.

“I do, care to tell me why it’s important?” he asked.

“Inside, there’s the rune I was talking about,” Krista explained. “It lets a person’s wattiez affect a space separate from where they are at. Perfect for abilities that don’t require too much energy.”

Looking towards a guard sitting on top of the high bridge, Darius was able to make out a faint purple aura surrounding him. “Such as the ability to say… track hidden targets? Probably using a Relativity Affinity?”

“At least you catch on fast,” Krista responded.

“So, what do you suggest we do?” Darius asked.

Krista pointed to a small group of people, about six in all. They all looked to be in their twenty to thirties and each carried some sort of weapon on their backs. They made their way through the security checkpoint with nearly little opposition, only being stopped shortly by a woman with a strong blue aura.

“See their colored necklaces?” she inquired. “They’re all Guild Coalition members, but they haven’t worked together for very long. The necklaces prove that they don’t know each other’s affinity by sight.

As Krista said, Darius saw that each one wore an oddly shaped necklace, such as a bolt of lightning, a spiral, and even a double helix. Each one having a color from the hex.

“One green, two red, one yellow, a purple, and one orange,” Darius said to himself, “That combination of affinities have any meaning?”

“No, but their clothing suggests they’re from different guilds within the Coalition. The man up front is a Hunter, and those two girls look like Researchers,” Krista replied, “They’re most likely on a joint mission, but with a party that small, they should be back by later tonight.”

Then you’re suggesting we make our way inside with those people?” Darius asked, more than just a little reluctantly. “How does that solve anything? We’ll still have to go through the security checkpoint.”

“You saw it for yourself!” Krista exclaimed. “Guild members, especially Hunters and Researchers, are given special treatment. They won’t even ask for ID. We’ll just have to get by the investigator.”

Darius knew that couldn’t be it, “Want to tell me what’s special about this investigator?”

“Right, the woman wearing the blue suit,” Krista answered. “She’ll ask you a few simple questions, your name, business, the usual, before letting you inside. You have to be careful because she has the ability to tell if you lie.”

“What if she asks where I’m from or what my profession is?!” Darius asked coldly. “Both have answers that I can’t exactly just say.”

Krista walked to Darius and poked him hard on the forehead. “Is this big thing just for show? I never said you had to tell the truth, at least not the full truth. She can only tell when you’re lying.”

Realization slowly began to dawn on Darius’s face. “Okay, I like where this is going, but how are we going to convince those guys to let us in their group?”

“The guilds are infamous for their recruiting tactics,” Krista replied immediately. “They’ve been short staffed for a while and will do anything to get more members. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind breaking a few rules for a couple of new prospects. With a bit of urging, I’m sure they’ll give in.”

“When did you think all this up? Not to insult you, but this whole plan seems a little bit above your thought range.”

Internally, Krista thought about rumors she heard as a child. Rumors about how the Guild coalition would illegally immigrate people for their services. Of course, the guilds have always refuted these claims, but her parents and Grand Auntie made it sound like there was some truth to the hearsay.

“A gentleman never asks, and a lady never tells.”

A devilish grin stretched onto Darius’s face; a sentiment reciprocated by Krista. “I was right! I really am rubbing off on you.”