Disclaimer: includes mild physical violence and small amounts of cursing/profanity ________________________

The thunder shook the walls as lightning flashed and reflected off the windows inside. A young girl ran through the empty halls to the wing where her loving parents slept. A loud creak echoed through the big bedroom as she opened the door slightly ajar to slip inside. As she shuffled onto her parents' bed slowly, the sound of thunder made her shuffle faster.

"Pip?" A soft voice groggily asked.

The young girl sat in the middle of the bed and stared at both of them. Her father had also woken up and was adjusting his eyes to the darkness. 

"I'm scared," she cried. 

Her father hoisted her up and sat her in the middle of him and his beloved. He wiped her tears away and kissed her on her forehead. 

"It's okay. There's nothing to be scared of," he stroked her hair.

His wife put an arm around the child and she snuggled into her mother's side. "You're becoming a big girl now. You have to be brave for your little sister, too," she lightly chastised.

"What if it's a boy?" Their daughter curiously asked, pointing at her mother's abdomen. "Then he just has to be brave since he’s a man."

"Nonsense. Girls and boys can both be brave. Who told you that ridiculousness?" Her father assured, caressing his daughter's hair.

"Quinn," she replied innocently.

"Lerim’s daughter...." the king said quietly with disdain.

They ended the conversation there, with the lighting still striking fiercely outside and the wind blowing like mad. The child went to sleep that night, thinking about her parents and her family, and how nothing would ever tear them apart.

How wrong she was...
________________________

"I think you broke my nose,” he groaned, sitting down.

"Get over it," Aris replied and handed him a wet rag. Then he groaned some more, easing the cold rag on the bridge of his nose. 

"And pull your hood down," Aris said, yanking it off his head. "You look like an assassin."

"Well, technically-" he started. She cut him off with a glare.

"What are you doing here so early, Irwin?" Aris asked, leaning against the kitchen sink. "The sun just set. Someone could've spotted you."

He pointed towards his hood.

"But even so, what if someone saw your hair? Or your eyes? You know how your eyes look during the day," Aris said.

"Are you implying you think my eyes sparkle?" Irwin asked smugly.

"Those words have never and will never come out of my mouth, you diseased weirdo," Aris retorted.

"Sir Irwin!" a tiny voice yelled.

The two looked towards the door to see Sae, grinning joyfully. She ran over to Irwin and he picked her up to sit her on his knee. "Hello, Miss Sae."

"You haven't visited in so long!" Sae exclaimed, stretching out the ‘o vowel. Tugging on a strand of her light brown hair, she held it up to him. "My hair grew longer! See? That means it got prettier!"

Irwin chuckled. "Yes, it did. You're looking more and more like your sister at this age."

Aris stopped what she was doing to turn to look at him. She rolled her eyes, but there was a twitch of her mouth as she tried not to laugh. "Sae, go play in your room. I have to talk to Sir Irwin." 

"But you're-"

"Privately," Aris stressed, almost in a pleading voice.

The child reluctantly got off of Irwin's knee and left the room, shutting her bedroom door as she went inside. 

"I’m sorry I lied to her," Irwin said, running a hair through his silver hair. “Just slipped out.”

“Lie?”

“Yeah, she’s way prettier than you were at that age.”

Instead of yelling at him like she did the last time he acted like a little pest, she simply smiled. "Would you like some tea?"

Irwin looked frightened. It was always better to have this girl yell and insult him than to have her say nothing at all. Having no reaction was scary, putting the horrendous idea in his head like she was plotting his murder behind. 

"You're not going to try to poison me again, are you?" He asked sheepishly, eyeing the kettle.

The black-haired girl set a cup down in front of him and sat down in the seat across the table. 

"Even if I did, it would have no effect on you," she waved her hand dismissively. "My knowledge of poison is only limited to those books I stole from Lincoln."

"And what about those books I brought you? You use them as kindle?" Irwin snorted. "Speaking of this Lincoln fellow, you've never let me meet him. You two have been friends for so many years yet you won’t introduce us. Do you favor him over me?"

She stared at his mock hurtful expression with a deadpan face. "It's because his home is so messy and I know how you can get. I'm merely looking out for the both of your sanities." 

Of course, though, she was lying. Another secret Lincoln had drunkenly confided to her about was that he was wanted in the capital and was currently being chased down by a noble family. He had passed out before he could say anymore and Aris did not want to pry. She knew how Irwin could be, and his current position in the capital could put the doctor in danger. 

"Oh yes, that reminds me. Sae brought up an important point. Where have you been in the last two months?" Aris asked, staring Irwin dead in the eyes. The last light of day shone through the open window and gave his golden eyes a gentler, yellow hue.

"Pelitoan," Irwin answered. "I was sent along with my battalion as guards for a diplomatic mission."

"That's the capital of Imory, isn't it?" Aris asked.

"Yes. The mission was supposed to have only taken a few weeks but since we were diplomats from Vemalla, the priests and priestesses wanted to foster better relations. They insisted that we stay longer to celebrate a holiday of theirs. It was only after the Holy Saintess found out that she ordered her followers to let us leave," Irwin said, shaking his head.

"Holy Saintess, " Aris mumbled, thinking. "Is it still Linera?"

He nodded, picking up his teacup. “I was able to speak with her momentarily… she mentioned you.  Said you died young."

The girl nodded silently, glancing out the window. The sun had completely set by now. 

There was a peaceful silence between them, something that often occurred. Then she spoke up. "Look at you, traveling out of the country and being all important. You've missed a lot these couple of months. I bet you don't even know what I've been up to.”

"You mean like murdering a pastor?" He raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you figure?"

"The last letter you wrote to me, you said you were going to take care of a weasel. At first, I thought Sae had brought home an unwanted animal," Irwin smiled. Then his expression turned serious. "But then this afternoon when I entered town, everyone was talking about how Pastor Measle had died from poison.”

He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a pink flower. At one glance, Aris recognized it as Nyx Dreksin. 

"You know if you weren't immune to poison, you'd possibly be dead or dying right now," she got up from the bench to lean smugly on the counter. "Hate to break it to you, 'Sir Irwin,' but I'm not your killer. Why would I waste my time and life trying to get Dreksin when I have a plentiful supply of Renclow?"

"I thought as much—" Irwin put the flower back into his pocket. “—I didn't think it was you, either."

"Then who did it?"

Irwin gave her the stare that he'd always given her when she was the topic of the conversation.

"Of course it's her. She was always involving herself in my business,” Aris said bitterly.

"Maybe she wants to help." 

"Am I someone to be pitied? She probably has so much more resources than I do, and what do I have?”

Irwin grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "You have me."

What would've been a nice moment between them, turned into a game of cat and mouse.

"What is wrong with you?" Aris shouted as she chased him around the kitchen. "Were you flirting with me? Huh?"

"I was trying to comfort you!" The silver-haired man yelled helplessly as he dodged a pan aimed at his head.

"Where did you learn to flirt like that you bast-" she was cut off by tripping over a chair.

Irwin stopped running and talked back to her to help her up. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Aris stopped clutching her leg to look at him. Genuine concern filled his eyes, as it always did when it came to her. She was so inept whenever she was angry, and she was very often angry. 

"I'm fine," she assured, punching him in the chest. She then dusted off her skirt and went back to put the chair back in its place. "Are you staying for dinner?"

Irwin looked at the sun that had already set and nodded his head.

"I'll have to leave early tomorrow, though. I have to report to the king,” he informed.

"Right. The king," the girl repeated, frowning.

"You know, those books you stole from Lincoln? You should probably return them." Irwin suggested, washing his hands.

"Probably. I'll return them tomorrow when I go to pick up medicine." 

He appeared behind her with puppy dog eyes, gold meeting blue. "Can I come with you?"

The girl smiled sweetly and patted his head like a dog. "Not on your life."