After about a minute's walk from where they started, Sam and Lucy finally saw them – Theodorus Stark and Ariadne Helians, two of the famed Empyreans. They were sitting close to each other with the Opal Sun princess testing the tension of her bowstring while her loyal guard inspecting his twin swords. More importantly, there were no traces of the black veins on their faces and necks which made both Sam and Lucy let out a sigh of relief simultaneously.

Seconds later, Aria’s vibrant tangerine eyes noticed the trio, prompting the princess to call out to them, “Hey, over here!”

Lucy waved her right hand in response though she had to be careful to not raise her arm too high.

The princess immediately jumped to her feet and slowly made her way to the trio, still clutching her black bow. At first, she was smiling affectionately at the group until she saw the stitches on Lucy’s arm. “Oh, uh…,” Aria murmured, “I’m sorry…for everything.”

“Please, Your Radiance. There’s no need to apologize for something that was clearly beyond your control,” Lucy reassured, “All that matters is that you are safe.”

“Well, almost all of us,” Aria sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “So, you decided to finally grow your hair. You know, my mother will be ecstatic if she sees you.”

“If the Queen sees me, she’ll order me to come to the Palace just so she can have the opportunity to braid my hair.”

Both women proceeded to let out a hearty laughter. However, Aria took notice of the inflamed skin on the young Nightingale’s waist. “Hang on a second,” said the princess before pulling out a piece of folded cloth from her coat and unraveling it to reveal a handful of greenish paste. “Boys, if you wouldn’t mind, can you give us girls some space, please?”

Sam and Rupert glanced at each other before taking a few steps away from the two women.

“Wait, what are you doing? You’re not gonna put that thing on me, right?” Lucy expressed her concern.

“Don’t worry,” Aria chuckled. “It’s just a mixture of herbs I made in case one of my arrows…rebounded. But that’s not important right now.” The princess walked toward Lucy with a pinch of the paste between her thumb and index finger. She then cautiously smeared it all over the young Nightingale’s waist, causing the latter to fidget.

“Shit, it’s cold!” Lucy remarked. Furthermore, her nose twitched as she caught a whiff of something pungent drifting in the air, akin to the smell of wet soil.

“I must say, you’re quite lucky. A little deeper and your flesh would have come off of your bone,” Aria explained.

Lucy repeatedly blinked her eyes, unsure how to process the information she just heard. In the end, she could only reply, “Um, thanks, I guess?”

“Aaaaand, we’re done,” Aria then shifted her focus toward Sam and Rupert, quickly spotting the wounds they sustained as well. “I see our Captain of the Royal Guard has already welcomed you with the Opal Sun Kingdom’s hospitality. I assume you are satisfied with his care?”

“It’s, um, debatable,” Sam responded, his forehead creased.

“What is debatable?” said Theo, who suddenly limped out from behind the princess. Despite the visor obscuring his eyes, his raspy voice and heavy breathing exposed the aftermath of his prior battle.

“Nothing. We’re just having a little talk, that’s all,” Aria retorted although she could tell from the frown on the man’s face that he heard everything.

“I…see,” Theo stuttered.

“You look like you’ve been thrown into a gorge, Theo,” Sam jumped into the conversation, “Are you sure it’s a good idea to be walking around?”

“I appreciate your concern, Mr. Edelweiss, but I believe I’ve been sitting long enough,” the Captain of the Royal Guard paused to clear his throat, “I assure you; this is pretty mild compared to what we had to face on a daily basis.”

“Really?” Aria curiously inquired.

“Sadly, Your Radiance, it is,” Theo politely answered. “You never realize it because, well, you and the prince are more adept at fighting than me. Also, every time we were done with the Raids, you quickly tended to the citizens of the Edge.”

“Oh,” the princess spouted; there was a hint of regret in her voice.

“Anyways,” the Captain of the Royal Guard then looked over to Rupert and said, “I’m truly sorry, Mr. Nightingale, about your neck.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’ll heal in about a day or two,” Rupert exhaled. “My pride would take longer though.”

Theo frowned, a wave of guilt washed over him until Lucy spoke to him, “Please ignore my older brother. He’s just being his usual sulky self.”

“Right,” Theo nodded before quickly gathering his thoughts, “First and foremost, I would like to offer my gratitude to the three of you for rescuing Princess Aria. You have done the Opal Sun Kingdom a great service. Secondly, Your Radiance told me everything – about your little encounter with the Night Terror and how he aided you in battle.”

Sam and Rupert’s eyes widened in shock; their surprised expression was noticed by Theo who in turn, retorted, “My apologies. I thought Miss Nightingale already informed you two about what happened.”

“She did not,” said Rupert as his head snapped toward Lucy, “I gotta say, lil sis – the Night Terror helped you and you didn’t bother to share that story with your dear older brother?”

Lucy rolled her eyes upward, annoyed by her sibling’s questioning. “I was planning to AFTER we return safely to the Tower. Now with that out of the window, so yes, I did fight alongside the Night Terror but it was out of necessity.”

“Still, it doesn’t explain why he would cooperate with a Faceless,” muttered Theo, casting his gaze to the ground.

“Well, he did say he wanted to…settle an old debt? I’m not sure what he meant by that but it didn’t sound like he was lying,” said Lucy.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I don’t think we could trust anything he said, even if he was speaking the truth,” the Captain of the Royal Guard took a hurried look at Aria who was scowling at him. “Let’s save that for later. For now, we need to head to the Cerulean Mausoleum. It’s safe to assume that Prince Jason is still in there.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Sam interjected. “You could barely stand on your own two feet.”

“My condition is irrelevant, Mr. Edelweiss. The prince’s well-being is.”

“Sure, it’s all about your sacred duty, right? But your duty means nothing if you get yourself killed, let alone by someone you swore to protect,” scoffed Sam.

“So, it’s decided then,” Rupert smirked, “Me and Sammy will go find the prince while all of you wait for our return-.”

“No, Rupe,” Sam intervened, shaking his head, “As much as I appreciate your help, I want you to stay with Lucy and help her escort the others out of this forest.”

All eyes were instantly on Sam who had already anticipated his friend’s bewildered reactions.

“Wha-! You're going alone? That’s bullshit!” Rupert cried out.

“Usually, I would disagree with my brother, but this time he’s right and it is, I quote him: bullshit,” Lucy further added.

“It’s not about what I want,” Sam responded with a grimace across his face. “There are five of us; three are in no state to fight. Besides, I’m the only one who knows how to snap Jason back to his senses.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” the elder Nightingale scratched his head in confusion.

“I…,” Sam sighed, feeling slightly hesitant to elaborate on his previous remark. “What happened to the both of you – it happened before to Elisabeth Rosier back in the Desert of Ashes. Someone or something took control of you – dictating your movement like a puppet.”

“And what does that have to do with you being the only one who can snap Jason back to his senses?” asked Theo, his eyes narrowed.

“When you were…not yourself, I saw a black thread, as dark as the cloudless night sky and swelling like the waves of the ocean, sticking out of your head, extending up into the forest canopy. It was similar to the one that was on Elisabeth’s head when she went berserk,” Sam paused briefly to give his listeners a moment to soak in the information.

“So, that’s how you did it,” Lucy broke the silence, her eyes fixated on Sam’s troubled expression. “All this time, I thought it was out of pure luck, but it seems your flame is not the only burden you are carrying.”

“You don’t sound surprised.”

“Actually, I had a feeling that you would spill the bean sooner or later. I didn’t dare to probe you about it considering you were as confused as I was,” the young Nightingale commented before scratching her itching right cheek, “Though to be honest, I was hoping for this conversation to take place in better circumstances. Well, beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.”

“Even if you know how to stop my brother,” Aria jumped in, giving Sam a disapproving frown, “It still doesn’t change the fact that you are going against him alone. He’s stronger than you, and a far more experienced fighter. I’m curious about how you’re planning to subdue him.”

“There’s no need to subdue anybody if I cut off the black thread-.”

“IF is not good enough,” the Opal Sun Princess lashed back. “You don’t strike me as a foolish person, Edelweiss, but your so-called plan suggested otherwise. Without reinforcements, your odds of surviving your battle with Jason is close to none.”

“That is precisely why you need to leave – to get reinforcements,” Sam swiftly countered, “Besides, to the residents of the Opal Sun, I’m simply a novice of the Faceless Order – in other words, a nobody. If something was bound to happen to me, it wouldn’t be as chaotic as your current situation.”

Aria immediately drew her saber and pointed it at Sam – an action that simultaneously prompted Rupert to brandish his twin sickles. Sam briskly raised his right hand, gesturing at the elder Nightingale to lower his weapons. “I don’t need more needless deaths to occur under my watch,” the princess growled.

“I understand your frustration, Your Radiance, but unfortunately, this is neither about you nor me,” Sam carefully pieced his words together. “Despite what had transpired, your Kingdom needs you – your people need you. Not me; not Lucy or Rupert – you.”

“But you are in my domain and I command you to stop. If you disobey my order and persist on venturing deeper into the forest, then you’ll be charged for trespassing,” warned Aria.

Sam could only exhale after hearing the princess’s threat. “Forgive me, Your Radiance, but I only take orders from the Council of Eight. If you’ve got any complaint, then you can take it up with them – but, I doubt you have the time to do that.”

Aria turned her attention toward Theo, expecting the visored man to lend her some support. However, to her dismay, the Captain of the Royal Guard reluctantly shook his head in return. The princess bit down on her lower lip, and a line slowly formed between her eyebrows. “You haven’t the slightest clue who or what you’ll be facing,” said Aria before lowering her saber to the ground. “You may have survived your encounter with me and Theo, but if you are dead set on going into the Cerulean Mausoleum alone, then, you must know there’s no guarantee you’ll come back out alive.”

A tiny, confident smile appeared across Sam’s face as if he had expected the comment. “Not to be disrespectful, Your Radiance; you and I know a Faceless’ duty often involves us being thrown into the face of danger whether we like it or not. In other words, I’m not seeking a glorious death – I’m doing this because I believe it’s the right thing to do.”

As soon as Sam finished his sentence, the princess’s expression started to relax. “Believe…,” Aria murmured. “My father, King Cyrus used to say that belief is a powerful thing. It shines upon the fallen like the gentle, morning sun, but the same light will burn them if they stay under it for too long.” The princess proceeded to sheath her blade before turning her head toward Theo, who seemed to understand what she wanted.

The Captain of the Royal Guard snuck his hand into his coat and pulled out the Spool, causing Lucy to gasp. “Woah, is that…is that what I think it is?” the young Nightingale blurted out.

“It is,” Aria confirmed Lucy’s suspicion. “And I’ll appreciate it if you bring it back in one piece. They are quite expensive.”

“How expensive?” Rupert asked curiously.

“About…,” Aria paused as soon as she noticed a mischievous glint in the elder Nightingale’s eyes, “Let’s just say it was not made with your everyday materials.”

Sam approached the Captain of the Royal Guard, who in turn, handed the peculiar device in his hand. “When you want to head to the Cerulean Mausoleum, hold this in front of you and it’ll automatically point you to your destination,” Theo explained.

“It’s, um…much lighter than I thought,” Sam remarked as he weighed the Spool in the palm of his hand. “But this is the only one you got, right? How are you going to find your way out of here?”

“The Rift Gate, of course,” said Theo. “For some reason, the portal only works when we’re leaving this forest. If one intends to enter this place with the gate, then they will only pass through it like a normal doorway.”

“I see,” Sam responded. A few seconds later, he heard footsteps stomping toward him from behind, followed by the sound of a man clearing their throat. Sam spun around, only to meet the disapproving stares of both Nightingales.

“So,” Lucy began, “You’re seriously going in alone?”

“You’re not planning to change my mind, are you?” Sam retorted.

“Me? Changing your mind? Nah,” the young Nightingale replied, shaking her head from left to right.

Rupert, on the other hand, was displeased by his sibling’s unenthusiastic response. “What the…? You’re giving up already? That’s supposed to be my job,” the male Nightingale ranted. His head then darted toward Sam with his right index finger pointed at his vermillion-eyed friend, and exclaimed, “Fine! I’ll go with them but not because I owe you. Just so you know, the debt between us is still unresolved, so you better make it out alive.”

Sam bobbed his head in agreement, and replied, “Well, catch you guys later?”

“Catch you later,” Lucy countered with a lopsided smile.