"So that's what happened," Estes said, his voice reflecting the weight of their discussion.

For hours, Mani and Estes had recounted the events leading up to her capture, each sharing their perspective. Estes had mostly listened in silence, his sigh at the end of her story revealing his concern.

"So... You saved this Aerendil, only for him to betray you? Is that the gist of it?" Estes asked after a moment.

Mani nodded. "That is basically it."

Estes turned away, his expression growing somber. "I sure hope you remembered what you yourself taught us, Mani."

Mani tilted her head to the side. "Huh?"

"For all who shall wrong Maven, they will receive punishment by tenfold," Estes recited her words.

Mani raised an eyebrow before letting out a snicker. "Oh, come on. You of all people should know I just said that to look cool. Plus, I was a bit tipsy."

Estes smiled and laughed. "That may have been so, but you did deliver on what you said." He was happy she didn't seem so sad anymore. He missed these banters dearly.

Mani cleared her throat with a mischievous glint in her eye. "You forgot the next part—'Pin them down and twist their nuts counterclockwise. Derive them of a future bloodline!'"

Estes met Mani's gaze before both of them erupted into laughter. Estes had to clutch his chest to calm down, while Mani lay back on the grass, laughing heartily.

Estes eventually settled into a chuckle, his grin returning. "You're right, I did forget that part. But I remember you adding it later when we were alone with the others."

Mani's laughter subsided, and she sat up with a small smile.

Mani shrugged. "I did say it, and I'm proud of it. It was a good line."

"It sure was," Estes agreed.

His grin faded as he noticed Mani's smile turning somber. "Hey, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it. I just miss the past."

"I know the feeling. At least we're all still somewhat together," Estes said.

Mani closed her eyes and nodded. "Yeah. I hope everyone's okay."

"They're fine. They were handpicked by us."

"It sounds weird when you say 'handpicked.'"

Estes tilted his head in curiosity. "How so?"

"I think of them as friends before subordinates. We became friends first; we didn't exactly 'handpick' them."

"Ah, that makes sense. Yes, you're right. We're all friends first and foremost."

Mani nodded. "Precisely."

The rest of the day was spent catching up. Estes shared his plan for the others, returned Mani's belongings, and apologized for the missing swords.

"Don't worry about it," Mani reassured him.

He furrowed his brows. "Why not? Weren't those swords a gift from Gael? He spent a considerable sum in them."

"I know. I didn't say I wouldn't get them back."

Throughout the day, they were waiting for any updates from the trio in Fejuhn. Estes kept glancing at his ring, while Mani anxiously waited for calls through her earring.

“They're fine. Vex is with them,” Mani reminded herself, trying to curb her worry. “They'll call soon.”

Another day came to an end, and they felt the weight of their continued silence.

"Gods above, I'm not doubting them, but shouldn't they have called by now?" Mani finally voiced her concern after taking a bite of bread.

"You're not wrong... It's been too long since our last call," Estes agreed. "We can't call them unless we want to compromise them assuming that they're in a tough spot."

Mani groaned. "And we can't even reach Al and Tahlia. Those damned elves really closed the borders and cut our comms."

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They lapsed into silence, both pondering their next best course of action. Just then, Estes's ring chimed, indicating an incoming call.

"It's Vex," Estes informed Mani as he answered, extending his hand so she could listen.

"Vex, what's the situation on your side? Mani is also listening," Estes stated.

"Hey, Vex," Mani greeted with a wave, momentarily forgetting that he couldn't see her.

"Mani, Estes," Vex briefly greeted them before continuing. "We've... got a bit of trouble."

Estes furrowed his brows. "What's the matter?"

"Xavier caused a commotion in the main marketplace," Vex sighed. "Long story short, we're on the run from the authorities. Again."

Mani and Estes exchanged knowing glances, sharing matching 'typical Xavier' expressions.

"Where are you all now?" Estes inquired after a moment.

"We're hiding out in an abandoned building. I'm not certain we can sneak back out of the city gates. Sasha probably can, though," Vex replied, his voice laden with exhaustion.

"Is that Estes?" Sasha's voice emerged from the comm, initially faint but growing clearer.

"Hey Estes! You won't believe what happened. Xavier—"

"Shut up!" Xavier's voice cut through the comm, causing Mani and Estes to wince.

Mani closed her eyes in thought, and Estes followed suit.

"I see. In that case, our next steps are clear," Mani declared and opened her eyes.

"Wait, is that Mani? She's awake?" Sasha asked.

Vex presumably nodded since she didn't ask any more questions.

Vex presumably nodded, as Sasha refrained from further questions.

Mani continued, "Stay low and avoid drawing any more attention. Now, I assume you don't have information on the plans of the elven military?"

"Yeah, we barely had any information before Xavier decided to—"

"Sasha, I said shut up!" Xavier's voice interrupted again.

Mani paused, and Estes placed a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded. "Okay, here is the plan. We need to find out whether the Minervahn Royals know about my identity. The elves could have already told them about my existence, or they haven't yet."

Estes furrowed his brows. "Hm, I suppose that sounds reasonable. But may I ask why?"

"If the Minervahn Royals are aware of me, I won't be able to return as easily. We have to go back to Minervah. You and I, Estes. We need more of our people here. It doesn't help that our communications with Al and Tahlia are severed; they have no idea we need assistance."

"I see... Reinforcements are indeed what we need," Estes mused.

Sasha's voice came through Estes's ring, sounding perplexed. "Makes sense that we need more reinforcements, but wouldn't it be even harder to hide more humans? I mean, the elves are on high alert, and we're out of cosmetics."

Vex chimed in with his agreement. "I agree with Sasha. Apart from you and Aleistor, there are only about five other elves in Maven."

"That's a valid point. But at this point, I don't think we have much of a choice. We can't simply stroll into Fejuhn to bail you all out," Mani sighed. "We don't want to leave you three, but..."

"It's fine. That wasn't our main concern in the first place," Vex reassured them.

"We can always have Al make more cosmetics. Although I'm not sure how long it'll take," Estes said, scratching his chin in thought.

"He might be able to make it more quickly this time round," Sasha informed. "He recorded the process for the first batch; he knows the recipe. He can totally make more very quickly. He's smart and—"

Xavier scoffed in the background. "Simp."

A loud smack followed, and Xavier yelped. Mani and Estes chuckled, figuring that Sasha was setting Xavier straight.

Vex sighed, the exasperation evident in his tone. "Very well, we'll stay lowkey for now."

A brief silence followed before Mani decided to bring up the next part of her plan.

"Vex, have you heard... about what the elf Aerendil is up to?" Mani inquired cautiously.

Estes's eyebrows furrowed, and he fixed his gaze on Mani. She ignored his bafflement.

Vex took a moment before responding, "Aerendil... Aerendil Haleth? I think there was some public news about his reinstatement into the military. I'm not sure why it was such a big deal, but I remember hearing about it."

"Reinstated..." Mani mused. "His devil sister mentioned something about redemption, but I was too out of it to pay attention. Thanks for the information, Vex."

"No problem, boss," Vex responded.

"Alright, we'll wrap up the call here. You need to call us at this time every day if possible, just so we know you guys are okay," Estes directed.

"Got it. If we don't call, assume Xavier got us arrested," Vex joked, ignoring Xavier's loud 'hey!' in the background.

"Stay safe. Goodbye for now. Goodbye Sasha and Xavier," Mani bid farewell, and Estes ended the call with a tap on his ring.

Estes immediately turned to Mani. "Why did you ask about Aerendil?"

Mani sensed his disdain for Aerendil, and she took in a deep breath. "Okay, this is a crazy plan, but hear me out, Tes."

"You're making me nervous," Estes muttered.

Mani paused, then glanced off to the side. "We kidnap Aerendil."

Estes's eyes widened, and his eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. His expression shifted from surprise to distaste.

"Pardon?"

Mani shrugged. "Yes. We kidnap him. Look,I said hear me out—"

Estes shook his head. "Mani, have you lost your mind? The guy's in the military. Even if we tried that ridiculous plan, we wouldn't get close enough to him. Plus, why on earth would we do that?"

"Think about it. Yes, it's the craziest plan. It's desperate, but we need to know what Minervah knows, and we can get it out of him," Mani explained.

"That's the most ludicrous plan I've ever heard," Estes agreed. "What makes you think we can get information out of him?"

"I guess you won't accept my gut feeling as an answer," Mani scratched her neck. "But I think he'd be desperate to hand me back to the Ylvanna military, and we can use that desperation to our advantage."

Estes knew Mani well enough to predict where she was going with this.

"So, you're planning to use yourself as bait?" Estes surmised, and Mani nodded. "But why Aerendil? Why not any other soldier?"

"Aerendil's sister is a captain, so he must have some knowledge about the inner workings of their court," Mani explained. "If we were to capture a regular soldier, we couldn't guarantee they'd know anything."

As reluctant as Estes was to agree to her plan, he couldn't deny the logic behind it. There were many risks involved, but as Mani said, they were in a desperate situation.

"Alright, fine. But how will we get you into Fejuhn?" Estes asked, raising a practical concern.

Mani chuckled and raised a finger. "That part, I'm not sure about yet."

Estes facepalmed.