"What. . ." Madam Zornem fell silent as Kyler, and I ripped apart from each other grasp. I badly wanted to explain everything, and how THIS is, in fact, not my fault. I mean, I cannot help that he just randomly showed up at her house in the middle of the night, right? 

"I can explain," I smile to Madam Zornem, but we both know that I cannot explain a damn word of it. I got caught like a boar in the torchlights. I let out a low breath and shake my head; my hands are clammy, and my legs are shaking. It is like I am full of a thousand little jitters, and they are now, of all times, coming to life and expanding into the depths of the real realm. "For the love of Gala; I can't explain. He just, he just showed up!"

"It is my fault, not hers; I was just checking in on her after drinking that concoction, and I was worried." 

"Will you two shut your bloody mouths already. I am just confused, that is all. But you," Madam Zornem points an accusing finger towards me and gives me a slight death glare, "are in some major trouble."

"Should I ask why?" Kyler sounds, and I put my hand onto his shoulder and shake my head no. It is better that he does not know that I just, well, murdered somebody and left their body out on the marketplace streets to rot away. 

"It is something that Alice and I would best keep to ourselves about. This is something that won't be happening again, right, Alice?" I gulp slightly and slowly nod my head in agreement. No more randomly attacking and sucking the soul out of drunks in the middle of the night.

Madam Zornem nods her head and closes the door behind her, seemingly content with the situation or as content as she can be. She just had to hide a dead body or do SOMETHING with it; I am sure she is less than pleasantly happy. 

"So, you're here to check on Alice, and now that you know her dirty little secret,” I let out a humorless chuckle and shake my head at her response. It was not such a little secret. 

She gives me a sideways look before continuing her sentence, "since you know her secret, we can go one of two ways. You can help us find her murderer, or you can get your memory erased. The choice is up to you." 

"I want to help," Kyler responds instantly which takes Madam Zornem and me both by surprise. I truly thought he would prefer his memory wiped; who in the kingdom of Gala wants to deal with something this complex, this secretive, something so vile and disgusting that the mere failure will lead to their certain torture and death? A brave knight he is; if it were me, I would run, hide. I would go so far away and try to forget every second of what this entire situation is made of. Alas, I am not a knight. I do not serve the people and protect others; perhaps he is just a good person; no, I am sure he is a good person. He has earned my respect, and that takes a lot. 

"You're something," Madam Zornem mumbles, and I nod my head in agreement. What an odd creature he is. 

"Madam Zornem ---" I start to ask but am quickly interrupted.

"Celia, Madam Zornem is too formal. If we are trying to fight this hidden attacker, I am done with formalities. Call me Celia." 

My eyes are a bit wide as Kyler and I look at each other. Formalities, for an elder to be called by their first name, is nearly unheard of unless it is royalty speaking to them. Her blue eyes pierce through my soul, it feels like a knife is being pierced through my heart. I let out a quiet cough and shake my head, this is bizarre. 

"Okay, now that you are in on this, Kyler, it is time to plan. Going into this blind would have consequences beyond words." 

"You're telling me," I mumble quietly, and everyone seems to be in a silent agreement. The air is tense, but, at the same time, it is tranquil. Despite the desperation of the situation, we know I have an opportunity that not just anyone has. I have a chance to get my life back. 

"Alice, here is what is going on. You have 39 rotations to find your murderer. Where do we start, do you have any enemies?" 

"Really, Celia?" I freeze for a second, the name sounds foreign off my tongue. I shake the thought out of my head and continue, "I was literally a peasant, no one could have given less of a bloody shit about me if they tried."

"What about suspicious people or events in the recent past?" Kyler and I look at each other as my mind flashes back to the past few days: the tailor warning me about the assassination, the ghost in the shed, the king smirking during the applause . . . there are so many things, and I cannot seem to keep up with them all. 

"The tailor. . ." I whisper quietly. He knows something; he warned me a few days ago about being careful about the murder. What does he know?

"You mean the Daniel? The one who does all the dresses?" Kyler sounds off, and I nod my head. Celia walks a bit closer and grabs a chair from the side table next to me, or the former side table anyway. She sits in front of Kyler and I and moves a stray hair from her typically put-together face. 

"Yeah, him. He said something about being careful when I got my dress, the same day I met you, Madam Zor- Celia." 

She looks blankly forward; Kyler simply appears to be confused. I would not expect him to understand anything anyway; this is rather confusing for someone who has no idea what they're running headfirst into. For the love of Gala, this poor boy is going to be in so much trouble, but I cannot do anything to change his mind, right? No, knights are known to be stubborn, and there is no doubt that Kyler is something special; I can feel it deep within the darkness of my soul or what is left of it. 

There is a sudden snap within me as my eyes widen; I leap from my seat and let out a loud gasp,

"The king!" My voice echoes around the room as I place my hands to my head. "He is the one that bought my dress; he's the one that invited me to Gala! He must know something!" 

Everyone seems quiet, Kyler seemingly stunned in place. Celia's face looks sullen and quiet, the works of her mind spinning like clockwork. 

"How did this never occur to me, didn't we discuss this, Celia? You - you said something about it." 

"Gods, Alice, I am losing my memory, I don't remember anything these days." 

"Well, try. You're the one that alerted me, and I am the one inflicted with this god's awful curse." 

I let out a quiet breath and sit back down next to Kyler who sends me a pitiful frown; surely this is a lot to take in. This kingdom is not simply corrupt, it is ruined. For this a kingdom of facades, on the outside we are perfect but deep within, there is nothing short of tragedy with every corner passed by. People are suffering, and royalty refuses to acknowledge it. 

"When my mother was alive," Kyler's voice rings around the house, and I look towards him, curious. I remember him telling me about his mother, she sounded like a kind soul, perhaps she was. “she told me one rule to follow by: never trust anyone but yourself. Today, I break that rule. For nineteen Gala’s, it has served me right, but I find the spirits around me to be at bay when I am with you. They seem to trust you, Alice and Madam Zornem."

"Call me Madam Zornem again or for the love of Gala," Celia mumbles quietly. She seems to be intrigued, however, and I do not blame her. Spirits are rather fascinating creatures; they are not dead nor alive. Spirits are those who are stuck in between the middle of life and death, they are simply in an infinite loop of false reality. I feel bad for them, most are quiet creatures that keep to themselves, but, at times, they can be loud, excited even. I wonder what they say to Kyler. 

"Why me, especially when I look like this?" I gesture to my eyes and fangs, and Kyler only lets out a smile before staring towards the ground. His eyes, typically brown, start to glow a gentle green as his breath is quiet, somber. He stays still for those few moments before looking back at me, his eyes now back to their molasses irises. 

"They say that you are the one that will help them. However, they can't specifically say why. Madam Zornem, they say that because Alice trusts you that they trust you as well."

"I never said I completely trusted her," I whisper under my breath as I shake my head. I don't trust her completely; part of me does and part of me doesn't. She's the one that warned me in the first place, but I ponder if she is the one that put me up to it. No, certainly not. 

"A spirit whisper, strigoi, and elder, huh. Quite the group. Okay, so here's where we start," Celia pauses while shifting forward in her seat, "we need to get information out of the tailor. He knows something that we don't. Perhaps we can find a connection between him and the king."

"So how do we go about it?" I question. 

"Tomorrow you and I will go have a little chat with Daniel. Kyler," Celia points a finger towards the young knight whose eyes grow wide, "you will get an eye out for any rumors that might be circulating between the royal army. Try to keep an ear out, if you can."

"Not a problem, shall I report back tomorrow evening?"

"No, boy, you need rest. Report back in two days' time unless you hear something crucial. Don't leak anything, the last thing we need is my name to become suspicious. Especially when I am helping an enemy." 

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