"I know who to go to," Arnold said. They stood just outside the gates of the castle in which they previously lived. Well, stood was an overstatement. Arnold was the only one standing.

 Nathan was still in shock, and so was David; however, the leshy found Nathan's silent tears a lot more distracting than the reveal of the troubling news. He was on the ground- where Nathan had collapsed- and the leshy was cradling his bigger soulmate in his arms, rocking him soothingly back and forth while petting his hair. 

Nathan had not only just been betrayed by his sister, but he also had just discovered that his parent's death was not caused by an illness, as he originally thought. Half of him wondered how she framed poison on a sickness, and the other half of him wondered why his loving sister would do such a thing.

David felt Nathan's tears wet the crease of his neck, where Nathan had buried his face. His heart clenched for his silent soulmate, wishing to make him smile. He gave a kiss to Nathan's head.

"Who?" David's voice cracked from being on the verge of tears. Usually, he would let them fall- usually, he couldn't help but show emotion. But this time, he used all the strength inside himself to hold strong. Not that it would last.

But he had to try. For Nathan.

"Dominic," Arnold said, then tacked on the end quickly, "Reno. General Reno. He could help."

"But you said he left," David reminded, squeezing Nathan tighter when he let out a sniffle, "How- How are we supposed to find him?"

"I think I know where he is," Arnold sighed, "Unfortunately."

"How will he help us?" David asked softly, as if to not disturb Nathan, "Mary is the queen-"

"It's best not to discuss this outside the castle grounds," Arnold interrupted, "We wouldn't want any of the...new royalty...to hear our conversation. Besides, it will give us something to talk about on the way there."

David noted how Arnold seemed somehow stronger, despite losing his job. He also immediately turned more logical- as if his grief didn't matter at the moment. There were more pressing matters at hand.

David nodded, "That's a good idea."

Together they managed to get Nathan up and moving; David was concerned for his soulmate. Nathan hadn't spoken, and his mind was obviously racing somewhere else. The leshy wanted to feel overwhelmed- he wanted to cry as he always did in troubling situations. But Nathan would only feel worse if David did.

"So, how can Reno help?" David asked Arnold, trying to distract himself from Nathan's tears. He hoped that Nathan would also use the conversation as a distraction from whatever was flowing through his mind.

"I hate to say it without his permission," Arnold said sternly. David knew not to repeat his following words. "But Reno has the most experience out of anyone in this kingdom with William Kain. Not only that, but the general has an uncanny hatred for the man- more than anyone I know. As soon as he knows William Kain is sitting on the throne, he will kill him."

"So, how will that help-"

"He'll kill William Kain," Arnold repeated. The clever, yet loyal, man looked into David's eyes as if he knew what he was doing, and he was patiently waiting for David to catch on. They ducked into an alleyway just as David responded.

"Are you suggesting we tell Reno about William Kain so that he can commit treason for us?" David suggested; Arnold tilted his head to the side with his eyebrows raised as if to say "exactly." "Are you crazy?!" David continued, "He'll be killed! If not from the fight with William Kain, then definitely from the public after he commits treason. And I bet his track record won't help his case!"

Arnold knew this, and he definitely didn't want to support committing treason of the new rulers. But he also knew that William Kain was a sinister person, and he had no doubts that William Kain was a sinister ruler. It would be best for the kingdom if he was dead.

"Dominic has been training his whole life to kill William Kain," Arnold said, reminding David of something everyone already knew. William Kain was hated by most, but Reno acted as if he had been personally attacked by the king. Maybe he was. Arnold didn't know anything about Reno's past before he arrived at the castle. "I have no doubt that he could kill William Kain effortlessly."

"But William Kain is a vampire. And vampires and werewolves have been proven to have equal skill sets supernaturally," David said, completely forgetting that Arnold wasn't aware that the supernatural really existed or that Nathan knew Reno was a werewolf. Arnold stopped as he walked and frowned at David.

"Excuse me? The supernatural doesn't exist," Arnold said, and at the same time, Nathan said, "Reno's a werewolf? How long have you known this?"

David decided to tackle Nathan's questions first. He was simply overjoyed that Nathan was talking now.

"Just for a little while. I had suspicions of him being a werewolf since the beginning, but I didn't ask him about it until just before he left," David admitted," He's not like a normal werewolf though. Most werewolves are part of packs, but there are none in the area. He's a lone wolf, I assume. Probably trying to find others of his species to make a pack with."

Arnold scoffed. Werewolf or not, Reno would never actively search for someone to keep him company. He had never seen Reno get comfortable around anyone or let anyone close to him. The very thought of Reno forming a cult-like group with a bunch of men in his spare time made Arnold want to laugh.

"Are you sure we are talking about the same Dominic Reno?" Arnold asked. He didn't want to believe that the supernatural existed, but the other two obviously believed in fairies and unicorns. It was hard to hold up your beliefs when you were outnumbered. It gave Arnold the sensation that he was wrong; without any evidence, it was hard to tell who was. He did, however, recall Nathan telling him that David could turn into a giant war beast. He wondered now if it was really true. "We're almost there," he commented after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. 

David held tightly onto Nathan's hand, happy now that Nathan seemed responsive. He didn't feel the urge to sob anymore, and the leshy congratulated himself on surviving through a tough situation without crying.

Meanwhile, Arnold felt like a third wheel. He wanted to get to Duke's Juice, a run-down tavern close to the castle, as fast as he could before things started feeling uncomfortable. He was also praying that Dominic was there because it was his only guess as to where the general was. He had seen the general there before- the only place Arnold had seen Reno outside the castle grounds- when Dominic had, for some reason, wanted to go out into the people-infested streets. 

Arnold was curious that day and decided to follow him. Reno didn't seem like one to walk into a drunken crowd to guzzle down some ale out of the giant glasses- glasses that were bigger than his head.

Turns out, Reno went there to restock his pile of beer bottles. The very beer bottles Arnold always saw when he went to wake Reno up. Except those were usually empty.

The thought of Reno wanted to make Arnold blush. He didn't know what gave him the courage to kiss Reno before he left, but now he was nervous seeing him again. What would Reno say about it? Would he kill Arnold for kissing him? 

Arnold doubted it, but he still worried. He thought he liked Reno...a lot. Despite being asexual, he could still be romantically attracted to someone. Dominic Reno was a mystery, a complicated human being, and Arnold loved knowing about things others didn't. He craved to know everything about Dominic Reno. In the process of getting to know him, he just happened to develop a romantic attraction toward the boy.

He had a nasty personality at times, but his heart was still made of gold. He was beautiful and strong, but still human. Seeing Reno have a panic attack opened Arnold's eyes further than they ever had- Reno had feelings just like everyone else. He suffered from panic. Suffered from insults. Suffered from loneliness.

Arnold realized just how much Reno must have been through. Dominic Reno had always suffered alone, and no one realized it. Arnold did, when he walked in on Reno having a panic attack. Arnold understood now. Reno wasn't invincible; he was just good at pretending to be.

But Arnold worried Reno would reject him when they met again. That the only person Arnold wanted to try a romantic relationship with would push him away.

He prepared himself for heartbreak.

"Here we are," he said, steeling himself as he saw the sign of Duke's Juice (such a stupid name) hanging from the wooden building. Warm light streamed through the windows, which seemed inviting. After all, the sun was setting, and the temperature would drop soon as night neared. The door looked like it would fall off its hinges if he opened it, but that was not a concern for Arnold. His main task was finding Dominic.

"Keep an eye out for him," Arnold mentioned to David and Nathan, as they stepped inside. It was warm, but not too hot. Usually, taverns were so crowded that the heat would be unbearable. However, the crowd was not as large as Arnold was expecting. There seemed to be a bunch of happy fellows with giant glasses in their hands, laughing and yelling about women and ale. Arnold caught word of a few tall tales from some fishermen that smelled like rotten crabs.

He glanced through all of the jolliness in search of someone who was not happy. His eyes immediately landed on a figure who was cooped up in the darkest corner of the room- someone who he wouldn't notice without actively searching for someone. The figure had a back cloak around him, and the hood of the cloak hid his face. But Arnold noticed a familiar backpack strap across his shoulders and a bottle of beer sitting in front of him.

Please don't be drunk, Arnold prayed.

"I think I found him," Arnold stated, pointing to the figure in the corner. He was sure it was Reno. Strangely, however, the general's head was lying on the table, as if he was bored or asleep. He had never seen Reno relax before, but this seemed almost too calm for Reno.

Arnold led the way and the couple soon followed. As they approached, Arnold got more and more nervous. He didn' know how Reno was going to react, but he hoped it was a good reaction.

"Dominic? Dominic Reno?" he said, loud enough for Reno to hear, but the man didn't stir. Arnold glanced at his face and realized he was asleep. Of course. Why would anyone expect less? Arnold shook Reno's shoulders. "Reno, wake up."

"Is he okay?" David asked with concern. Nathan was obviously curious too, but he said nothing.

"Ehy!" A woman called from the next table over. She was a fairly pretty woman, and she was perched on top of a big man's lap like a child. The man was obviously interested in her by the way he gazed at her with lust, but she seemed indifferent to him, "Are you that boy's friends?"

She pointed to Reno.

"Uh, yes?" Arnold replied. He wasn't sure if Reno had friends or considered them as such. "Do you know if he's okay?"

She snorted, slipping drunkenly off the man's lap until he wrapped a supporting arm around her waist. "He done drunk himself to sleep, sir! Passed out right in front of me. He sure is a drinker! He guzzled like seven bottles before he blacked out!"

"It was more like four and a half, Angelica," the man grumbled. He still had the glint of lust in his eye, but she was too drunk for him to seemingly deal with her comments. "And why were you watching him anyway? You got a thing for him?"

"Naw! Ronnie, you know I love you!" she snorted again, "Little boy over there looked upset, that's all!"

Arnold was confused. Did Reno always drink himself to sleep? Was that why he had bottles next to his bed? Nathan obviously didn't care because he still attempted to wake Reno anyway.

"Dominic Reno! Get up! This is an emergency!" Nathan yelled, but it was fruitless. Dominic's sleep was undisturbed. 

"He's not asleep," Arnold realized, "He's not even conscious. He passed out from the amount of alcohol in his system." Arnold wanted to lecture about how unhealthy that was, but Reno was not awake to hear it. "I'll carry him."

"Carry him where?" asked David, who still hadn't let go of Nathan's hand. Nathan, Arnold noticed, still had tear tracks on his face. Maybe he cried more on the way over to Duke's Juice, Arnold wouldn't know. He was too busy thinking about Reno.

"Well, I assume there is a place that we could stay, somewhere?" Arnold looked in between the two of them, "We can't just stay the night in the tavern. Do either of you have a family to stay with?"

Arnold would offer to stay at his mother's house, but even Arnold himself didn't want to go back there. 

He was shocked when David shook his head. Arnold wasn't aware that David didn't have any family to go back to.

"The only family left...that I can trust I mean," Nathan's voice cracked at the clarification, " Is Derrick, my cousin from the east. He could probably help, and he's not too far away. But it will be a long walk on foot. A carriage would be faster."

"Only royals have carriages," Arnold reminded him. Nathan frowned and bit his lip in concentration. David suddenly smiled.

"Then let's go steal a carriage."