Trailing through the hallways of the Greenhouse, Alsop and Axel had arrived at the grand doors of the dining room. The doors opened for them through the snag of a vine, a contraption that gathered Axel's attention for a brief moment. Alsop's attention had fallen onto Isaac though, his usually fiery self looking gloomy at a glass of brown and bubbly beer.

"You're not hungry?" Alsop's thoughts seemingly materialised into words.

"Not really." Isaac said, he had risen his eyes for Alsop, and then onto the cloudy, but sunny, skies outside.

"Something is on his mind. Probably the situation with Envy." Axel whispered.

"Does it really matter where he is held captive?" Asked Alsop.

"Yes, it matters. It matters a lot." Isaac said roughly, taking a deep slither of his drink.

"Aha! I have found the two deserters!" The ailing voice of Victoria Magika had elegantly entered behind Alsop and Axel.

"When will we be leaving?" Axel asked.

"Oh, how cold!" Scorned Victoria.

"We leave soon. Grove has requested no more than three of us to go. Between you two, one of you must stay behind." Isaac said with a gulp.

"This is obvious Axel. You are the vice general." Smiled Alsop.

"Hmm, my poor Alsop will be left all alone then!" Victoria gently dropped her weight on his back.

"No. His father will remain. Thomas and Maxwell will wake soon. When they wake, the little girl will join them. The other person upstairs needs to be watched too." Isaac dryly said.

"Ahem..." Coughed Alsop as he witnessed Axel firmly bite his lip.

"Well then! You and your father can catch up, Alsop. I'm sure it's been a while?" Happily, Victoria suggested.

"A couple of months, perhaps." Hesitantly said Alsop.

"Months!? You must make sure to speak with him! He is your father after all." Victoria clung to him tighter.

"Argh! What does it matter to you?" Alsop lightly strode her away, breaking free from her.

"Yes, what does the matter have to do with you, Victoria? You're being quite a pain now. You should mind your own business." Isaac swiftly said, his lips pursuing another sip of his drink.

"I think that is enough for you." Victoria sharply dismissed him as she moved his drink from his hands.

"Sorry." Isaac had been vastly awoken by his uncourteous manner.

Time soon passed by in a blur, as the sun soared into the mid-day mark, shrouded by several clouds, but with a burst of shine that confessed deep shimmers of warmth. A much-needed ailment to the gloom that stung within Alsop, for he had been stood next to his father wishing the others farewell for the afternoon. Grove had been front and centre in his majestic carriage, on the road to the capital of Greenwich, a far superior state to Bournington in terms of its energetic economy. Flourishing through the pathways of thick forest that covered the mainland Greenwich, a warm breeze had fluttered about the air whilst Grove drove along with impatient haste.

This light wind had flushed both Alsop and Lux back into the confines of the Greenhouse, but though they did not mutter a word to each other, a dual pause overcame the two of them. They had separated into two different directions, but the jingle of their boots moving had both stopped in silence. They had their backs to each other, in distance, with a deep look to the soft red velvet carpet.

"Would you like to talk?" Lux broke the silence.

"Yes. Yes...we should catch up." Alsop had the words of Victoria still lingering in his mind.

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"So, how goes the life of Bournington?" Broached Lux.

"Well, aside from the re-emergence of Envy and other problems...Bournington is doing fairly well. King Hammerhead isn't a nice person to work under, but I can't complain." Said Alsop, his lips free and unloading.

"Ah yes. I have heard a thing or two of him. I wonder how he got such a role." Said Lux.

"My instinct tells me he got the role unfairly." Said Alsop.

"Yes, mine too." The reply from Lux quickly fell out, as his next words ushered a curious leap for knowledge. "You have made some good friends." He said.

"Yes." Alsop had been shocked at the sudden change. "I have grown close to them." He added.

"They are quite fancy, aren't they? How did you come to mix with them?" Inquired Lux.

"Hmm." Alsop had thought long for his explanation. "I was valiant and dutiful to achieve a place in the Contest of Champions. That is where I made good friends." He said.

"Ah, the contest. Sponsored by Mary, no doubt? A perfect pair you two are!" Lux had a rosiness to his cheeks at the thought.

"Mary...?" The haunting words had the opposite effect on Alsop, his countenance taking a ghost white paleness.

"Ah, sorry. You probably miss her, right? You will be with her soon, no doubt!" Chuckled Lux. "Young love." He muttered.

"Yes...I miss her. She did not sponsor me. Maxwell did." Alsop said, his hand holding his chest as it tried to expel a plethora of emotion from him.

"Maxwell? The Guardian of Wind? The one that is asleep upstairs? How silly! Mary would have been a greater choice. The two of you are inseparable, you and Mary! I suppose Maxwell is not bad for status, but Mary. Mary would make more sense in my eyes." Lux said in his deep trail of thought.

All he could utter was the magnificent 'Mary'.

And this was so gut-wrenchingly unbearable for Alsop and his pained heart, he had fallen to the ground almost as if it were a cushion for comfort. He needed something to lend him strength in this challenging time. His legs failed him, and this along with the weeping silence of a dim boy, gathered the concerned eyes of Lux.

"Alsop?" He at first muttered. "Alsop!" He soon shouted out, his feet already running to his son.

"No! Don't look at me, I'll never forgive you if you do!" Alsop cried, his arm held out to prevent his father's touch.

"What - what has happened to her, Alsop?" Lux gently broached the question.

An immediate answer was unbearably unavailable. A soft sigh from Alsop had expelled into the room, but only after a triumphant wail of tears flooded him. All his love. All his passion. All his memories. All the things with Mary he had, surfaced right in the pools of blood that lived in his heart. His heart had been beating so wildly, beating like an animal that wished for escape, having been chained in the flesh. His tears gushed out like blood. Like life leaving him. The true pain of his tragic life had hit him.

"Mary is gone. She died."

Silence. Tears.

"Mary is dead!"

Silence. A turn. A burrow into warmth. He hugged his father so tightly, so fixedly, so preciously. Needing of some guidance.

"Alsop..."

A quick finger stopped his father's words.

"The contest you say? I would have chosen her in a heartbeat! Not Max! He chose me out of pity! My wife, my love, my life is gone." Alsop wept out.

"Look at me! Is this the truth?" Lux lifted his son’s head.

"The truth? How are you asking me that!?" Painfully asked Alsop.

"Because your tears are not grieving, they are missing her." Lux had caressed his son’s hair with his fingers.

"I - I know a way. A way to bring her back to me." Alsop blurted out. Lux did not reply. "I've been told of a tree - a tree that will bring her back!" He claimed.

"I was told about the same thing many years ago." Lux bitterly said.

"So, it is real?" Alsop rose his glistening eyes.

"Well your mother is not here, is she?" Lux's words had an instant regret stinging to them.

"No, she isn't. But that isn't my fault, is it? Besides, if I find this tree, I will bring her back also." Said Alsop.

"I suppose it would put some purpose in your life then." Muttered Lux.

"I do have a purpose!" Alsop scowled.

"You do?" Surprised, Lux asked.

"All I want in life, other than Mary, is to become legendary, to please -!"

Alsop gave a stern look to his father and then bid adieu as he ran from his father's grasp with a feisty bite of the lip.

He had wandered off into a room at the highest floor of the Greenhouse, where a giant observatory was in place, a stunning surface of coloured glass panes which had stains of old age. His eyes, however, settled on the fresh, golden warmth that tingled outside as he slightly envied not being able to go out and enjoy it. The carriage carrying the others was now gone from sight in the thick forest, but the small trail of dust could still be observable from the room.