The few days that they allotted to pass before they began their operation came and went, Alice was now out of town with half of the travelers and her attendants. His side of the operation didn’t require many men, as too many looking for one person would draw too much suspicion. They gathered around a table in their lodging space to convene.

“Alright, here is the description. She’s a young woman, roughly twenty-two years of age, most of a foot shorter than myself, and most importantly she has bright red hair. I don’t know what you all believe red hair to look like, but you’ll know what I mean the moment you see her. Once you have identified her, I need you to track her movements and find out where she is staying. Once that is done, you will return here and inform me.” Rigur said.

“What do we do in case we are detected?” One man asked.

“No contact. I don’t care if it means losing her, she must not know she is being tracked. She might act erratically if she finds herself being tracked. The situation is already tense. If you do fail in this, you must report back as soon as possible. Then for the duration of the search, you are to sit out so she doesn’t ID you. If the wrong people catch wind of what we’re doing then it could be bad.” Rigur said.

“Do we have any clues about where she might be, interest spots? What intel do we have to work with?” Another man asked.

“I have sparse details based on my experience with her. She does not tend toward social events as far as I can tell. I believe she trends introverted in general, but isn’t against spending time with those she is comfortable with. If you find her, she will likely be alone, or if she isn’t then it won’t be around others. I’d suggest the mercantile district as well as the old town district. If you don’t find her there, the next most likely place to find her is wherever there is food.” Rigur said.

“Any other extraneous factors?” A third man asked.

“None that I can think of, remember that this whole operation is contingent on how well this first step goes. If we suffer any setbacks here we’ll need to improvise. However, I need to make clear that there will be no danger invited upon her. We’re here to help if needed, not make things worse. Am I understood?”

“Yes, My Lord.” They all said in unison. Rigur then laid out a set of reflex glasses. Much to the shock of everyone around the table.

“Each of you takes one. Press here on the glass to open a line for me. Like I said, every hour on the hour. The only reason I expect you to miss this deadline is if you find her and need to focus on following her, or if you are compromised. I will tolerate no mistakes.” Rigur said.

“No, My Lord!” They all said in unison again.

“Good, now get out there. Report back every hour on the hour.” He said, the men all affirmed their understanding one last time, then left with the efficacy of trained men.

Once he was sure they were out he pressed a button on his reflex glass to ping them all. “This marks the start of the operation. Everyone synchronize their timepieces to the top of the morning.” He said. With that done, he sat the glass in his pocket and left the room.

He walked out into the center of the lodge they resided in and called out. “Aren!” Rigur said. There was no response, he walked around calling on the chance that he was behind a soundproof door. He entered the kitchen area to find a note on the counter.

Please give this to Lord Sherchower if you find this before him.

Sorry about disappearing on you, I wanted to get out and look around. I swear that I’ll be back within a few hours, and I won’t make myself a nuisance. I’ll notify you on the glass if something serious comes up.

Rigur sighed, he knew that this was going to happen eventually. He had insisted that everyone besides the travelers stay in the lodge until the waiting period was over to prevent exposure, but Aren apparently took his intent a bit too literally and left the moment it was over.

The operation was already underway, and he already said he would trust Aren’s judgment. It just didn’t sit well with him.

-----

Aren and Whisper sat in the middle of a restaurant in the uptown section of town. She was surprised by his choice of location. It was a rather fancy-looking restaurant, and she felt underdressed. Once she accepted Aren’s invitation, she insisted on heading back to get the rest of her robes. This was on the chance that the day might carry on to the evening, she didn’t want to get caught in the rain.

“I have to say, I’m surprised to see that you’re a mage.” Aren said.

“Oh no, these are just the robes a… friend… lent to me. She’s busy, and I needed a change of clothes while I was in town.” Whisper said.

“Your friend must trust you a great deal, those robes don’t look cheap. I’m not super attuned to magic and all that, but I can almost feel it from here.” Aren said.

“It’s nothing special, just some traveling gear.” Whisper said. The waiter came over to take their order. She feigned ignorance and asked Aren due to being the one who invited her.

“I’ll have the steak, and I suppose if I’m choosing for my friend here…” Aren said.

“We have a salad if that’s acceptable?” The waiter suggested.

“It wouldn’t be right to order a salad for someone while I order a steak, hmm… Ah, the duck breast. Though if you could, may we start with some water?” Aren asked.

“Of course,” The waiter asked, “Was there anything else?”

“No, thank you.” They said, “Very well, I’ll return with your water, and later then with your meals. Please enjoy your night.” The waiter said before leaving, taking the menus they had with him.

“So, in keeping with the idea of a casual lunch. Tell me a bit about yourself.” Aren said.

“There isn’t a whole lot interesting to say.” Whisper said.

“I find that many people undersell their interesting qualities. We look inward so often that we forget what makes us unique inside. I’m sure the same could be said for yourself.” Aren said.

“Maybe…” Whisper said, then she looked away as she had done before. As if she was thinking intently about something.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Might I suggest something to start with? What brings you to such a distant place?” He asked. This didn’t lift her sudden mood, but it did lift her gaze.

“It’s a bit complicated, and I’m not sure how much I should say.” Whisper said.

“I can understand that, you know my friend I mentioned before? We came out here looking for someone, he’s pretty worried for her and thinks she’s in trouble.” Aren said. Whisper’s expression darkened notably, which surprised and concerned Aren.

‘Is something wrong?” Aren asked.

“Maybe, who is your friend, and who are you looking for?” Whisper asked.

“I’m not at liberty to say, his presence in town becoming known could start serious trouble.” Aren said. Whisper’s expression darkened even more, and now she looked less neutral and more quietly distressed.

“Aren, this is important, I need you to tell me who your friend is, and who he is looking for.” She said. At that moment, it might have just been a trick of the mind, or perhaps he was just that confused and bewildered by the sudden shift in the mood, but he would swear she spoke without moving her lips. He paused to consider, she had already admitted to being in a complicated situation. She could be worried that he was a part of whatever her troubles were. Telling her as much as was safe might help.

“The most I can say is that my friend is a…” He leaned in closely, “a lord.”

Then he sat back in his chair, “He’s looking for a classmate of his, she seems to be in some kind of trouble, he didn’t tell me why.”

Whisper heard this, thought about it for a moment, then her expression seemed to brighten. Aren felt his heart finally start beating again as he realized that till that moment he had been holding his breath.

“Oh, oh good, I was worried for a moment there.” Whisper said.

“Why is that?” Aren said.

“Because no one I know is a lord.”

-----

That was an incredibly close call, oh my god.

“I know right?” Whisper thought.

There was a brief wave of agreement that radiated from Andromeda, but not much more.

“Alright, how do we continue from here? That was pretty awkward.” Whisper thought.

This is all on you, you’re the one who decided to take the lead on this. We can’t get involved without risking being affected.

“You piece of-”:

“Your food.” The waiter said, serving their two dishes to them in elegant fashion.

“Thank you kindly, do you accept tips, or should we include it at checkout?” Aren asked.

“At checkout, now please, enjoy your meal.” The waiter said with a bow. He walked off as the two of them took in the sight of their meal.

“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve had a steak I actually had to pay for myself. Makes it all the sweeter.” Aren said before carving it up to enjoy.

Whisper put the matter of White hanging her out to dry aside and cleared her throat.

“I haven’t eaten at a fancy place like this, I hope you can forgive my table manners.” Whisper said. Aren sat up from his steak, a bit of the juice and sauce still on his cheek, chewing with his mouth open.

“What was that?” He asked, then he swallowed his bite.

“…Nothing.” Whisper said, then she started to work on eating her own food.

She had a general idea of how this worked for humans, they would cut their food up and place it in their mouths. They would then use their teeth to gnash the food apart, then they would swallow it. She had experienced it by proxy through Andromeda countless times since she had been with her, but the idea itself sat strangely with her. For the first time in what felt like forever, Whisper was eating, and she didn’t know how to feel about that.

On the plate in front of her was the breast of a duck, a bird plucked of feathers and cooked, cut up into pieces, then placed on the plate in front of her. She had never put so little effort into sustaining herself, something about it felt wrong.

She picked up a small knife and fork and put them to the flesh of the duck and cut off a piece of the meat. She didn't know how much or how little was appropriate, so she just went with what seemed reasonable. The fork guided the food to her mouth, and she mentally braced herself for whatever might happen next.

When she ate before, there was a process. It started with a single instant of relief from hunger before the stitches of comfort were ripped out and the hunger plunged through her again. When the food was finally at her lips, put it inside. She waited for the fall, for her hunger to come spiraling back and destroy her again as it had before.

But it didn’t, she chewed once and felt the flavor of the meat spread through her mouth, there was no falling feeling, only the refreshing sensation of the taste washing over her. She chewed again, and it was the same feeling. She chewed again and again until the muscle memory in her body had her swallow it before she even realized it.

“What’s wrong?” Aren asked. Once Whisper stopped focusing on the food, she felt the tears rolling down her face. She wiped her face and put the fork down.

“You’re awfully patient with people making a scene of themselves.” She said.

“I’ve done enough tonight to make you feel awful, I guess you could say I’m just gun shy.” Aren said.

Whisper peered into his mind, as she had been doing through the whole night. His every action and thought from the moment they met involved making sure she was alright, or that he wasn’t upsetting her somehow. At that very moment, she could hear his thoughts as they streamed through his mind.

“I hope the night hasn’t been too tiring for her.”

“The streets are dangerous at night, I wonder if I should offer to escort her to her lodging after we’re done here… Would that be too much?”

“It hurts to see someone hurting with so little I can do to help.”

There wasn’t any ill intent to be seen, he truly didn’t even seem interested in her appearance, just as a genuine, honest friend.

Whisper, it has been a whole half of a day, do you mind not forming incredibly deep interpersonal relationships with people using Andromeda’s face. Can you imagine how complicated things would get if we see this guy again, but it’s Andromeda?

“If you didn’t have a point, I’d tell you to mind your business. Fine, I’ll wrap this up.” Whisper thought. She finished her meal without any more distractions. She and Aren finished their food within an hour and settled up the bill, which generally just came down to Whisper hearing several zeroes and Aren taking it.

That lead to them heading outside, where the sun had set, and it was pouring rain like the sky had a vendetta against the dry ground.

“Ah… Crap…” Aren said.

“Yeah, I at least have the robes. I kind of feel bad for you.” Whisper said.

“I might need to contact my friend and let him know I had to take an extra night somewhere nearby.” Aren said, sticking his arm out in the rain for a moment, only to pull it back half-soaked.

“I think this is it for tonight, thank you for the food. I can’t say I’ve ever experienced eating like that before.” Whisper said, tongue in cheek at her phrasing of that statement.

“It was the least I could do, anything less would have been a discredit to who pays me.” Aren said.

“Who is that?” Whisper asks.

“The King’s Grove Holding’s Group. Though we might not exist for very much longer.” Aren said. He laughed weakly, in the way that someone laughs through pain does.

Whisper couldn’t even get a word in edgewise before he spoke again, “Well, nothing to it, I think we need to get back home. Here’s to putting our demons to bed.” He said, then he pushed out into the rain.

“Have a good night, Whisper, I know you deserve it.” Aren said finally, then he disappeared into the storm.