Nothing.

Monica opens and closes her phone, watching it lights up and die every few seconds. Hoping the message icon pops up on her phone screen. It would from time to time but not from the person she wants the message to come from the most.

The night’s quiet, barely any customer as she idles behind the counter.

A yawn escapes her.

It’s her third part-time for the day.

Feeling the calming lull of slumber, Monica puts her phone screen down. Walking over to the storage closet, hoping that cleaning around the convenience store would combat sleep.

Slow, trudging. She grabs the mop and the bucket filled with sudsy water. Her eyes glances back to the phone on the counter, eyelids drooping.

“Wake up, Monica.” A heavy punch to her leg.

It was a mistake. The pain was numbing that it tempted her to sleep even more.

She pinches her cheeks this time. “Urgh!”

Take the phone––– Ignore it––– Take it––– Shut up–– NO!

Reluctantly, she grabs the phone, pockets it.

Her head began to throb. That familiar palpitation in her temple appears again but she ignores it, continuing to mop.

I felt something vibrate!

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Monica argues with herself.

What if? What if…

Whispers of hopes as her head grows more and more heavy. Chest slowly turning into hardened rock, it feels like carrying her backpack in front of her.

Monica takes a step forward, staggering.

Hands grabbing onto the mop to steady herself, her vision blurs. Like television without any cable, everything felt as if a hazy blanket covered her eyes.

Slow, deliberate.

Manually breathing to compose herself, Monica did her best to feel the capacity of her body. Cold sweats slowly trickling out.

Fuck! Shit! Why didn’t we sleep? Your fault––– No, you––– You!

“Shut up,” she growls to herself.

Knees giving out, Monica blinks profusely, fighting against the lull of sleep. There are times when she feels something is wrong within her body that she would manually breathe to focus her sense but it’s not working today.

Ray of hexagonal shape light now dances around her… until her vision blurs.

>><<>><< 

Only Leo and Feravis stay, idling by the dock of the port city, watching the giant visage of the marble castle above the cliffside. The last ship finally sailed towards Gonage Village.

“It’s never too late to tell them the truth,” says Feravis.

“And it also ain’t that late to turn around.”

Fog pools at the shore of the sloping side of the cliff, the forest hiding the road they’ll take back to the Glasse Duchy. Feravis sketches some more when a drop of rain staining his paper.

He looks up, the duchy glows sullen gray. Thunder booms above, and even more droplets fall. He grabs his leather back, sealing it shut.

“I guess you missed me repeating it five times before, but I go where you go.”

Rain begins to pour down the muddy streets. Passerby starts running out of the drizzle’s touch knowing it will grow stronger.

There’s a tug on Leo’s side, Truscott bits her lips. “Come on, we have to go back.”

“Do not worry for him,” Gray scolded. He walks back, with an umbrella. “You’re getting drenched! You shouldn’t have ran back–––”

He places it above Truscott, glaring at Leo.

“Conkers, thanks,” Feravis smiles.

He links his arms around Grays and dragged him towards the caravan for the soldiers who are returning to the Duchy.

Leo takes one look back at the ocean before he lets Truscott escort him back as well.

Gray takes out a wooden whistle which is a centerpiece for this elegant golden necklace he has. He plays it and a gentle breeze dries his clothes off.

“Stop wastin’ resources,” Leo scolds him.

“You worry too much, darling.” He tucks the whistle back under his shirt. “I have no plans of getting hurt later. I have no plans at all.”

On that last part, Leo feels something slap his face. He swats his hand, catching nothing.

“Stop it.” He grouches.

“I have not done anything.”

Clenching his jaws, Leo sighs and lets it go.

Gray smirks, dragging Feravis further away now that he has an opportunity.

“You will tell me who the client is, Feravis.” He says, pressing a small dagger to the man’s side.

Feravis looks at the dagger, tensing. “Woah! You could’ve bribed me.”

“Feravis.”

“Look, man. Truscott didn’t want you to know.”

“You would rather get stabbed?” He presses the dagger closer against the leather armor.

“Of course not! But! But think about it. What reason could she have to hide that information from you?”

“Don’t make me think, honey. Thinking is for ugly people.”

Feravis pauses, pressing his lips tight. He stares at the dagger pointed at his side. As he opens his mouth to reply, a smaller but burlier figure steps in front of them.

“Extortion, Cadet Houndreef?”

“Chief!” Back straight, Gray hid the dagger whilst Feravis slowly fixed his posture.

“It was Gray, Chief! I am completely innocent.” He takes one step away. “In fact, I’m the victim!”

“Quit whining. Drop and give me fifty, kid.” Chief Stonebrook turns to Feravis.

“What?!” His voice cracked but did as he was told.

Gray rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. “We were jesting.”

“With knives?”

“It’s a dagger.” He takes out the weapon, checking the make of it.

Chief Stonebrook shakes his head, “these young’uns. Go load up the caravan alone.”

“Pardon?!” His voice raises an octave higher.

The ride back to the Glasse Duchy from the Intrepid Port City took an hour and a half on the caravan due to the rain growing stronger and the road became bumpier.

The soldiers on horseback got there at under fifteen.

“You two shouldn’t have been caught fooling around,” Leo sighs as Gray and Feravis trembled their way out of the caravan.

“Oh, really, Iverncrest?” Gray huffs.

Feravis groans, “he threatened me, man!”

“Did you deserve it?” Truscott asks.

“Why would I?!”

“Sometimes you––– what do you want?!” Her shoulders tensed as she notices a soldier subtly approaching them, her hand grabbing her weapons on instinct.

“Woah! Truscott, it’s Liev!” Leopold steps in-between them.

Gray pops by Leo’s side, waving at the rounder man. A bit smaller than all of them which added to the charm.

“It’s fine, Leo.” Liev replies with that nasally voice of his. “Uhm, Captain Stonebrook just wanted me to tell everyone there wouldn’t be any training this afternoon. I was just wondering if you guys wanted to go to the mess hall early.”

“No.” Truscott narrows her eyes at Liev.

“Did… did I do something?”

Gray covers her eyes, chuckling. “Of course not! She’s just wary of strangers.”

Truscott grumbles, “maybe if he stops popping up out of nowhere.”

“I’m a rogue. I have to be stealthy.”

“Too stealthy.” Her eyes narrowed at the man.

Leo shakes his head, “we can’t right now, Liev. Next time.”

Truscott led the stealth mission, as practice for her becoming a skilled rogue. She swears it isn’t to compete against Liev at all. Liev is suspicious, that much is evident to her, but he has nothing to do with her desire to be better.

 Leopold is right behind her as they enter through the garden connected through the soldier’s training ground. No one batted an eye at his presence despite Truscott poorly stealthing and ending up looking all the more suspicious with her sticking close to the wall.

Feravis walks right behind him, occupied by his crossbow. He fidgets one the string, oblivious to the eyes on him.

Gray marches with this elegance to him but some maids in the castle double take seeing shimmering jewelry on a soldier like him. Nevertheless, Leo and Feravis diverted all their suspicions, perhaps chalking the entire weird behavior of Truscott as her simply being too enthusiastic for the job, while the rest fawned over Gray’s looks.

They reached the end of an empty hallway, where a stair leading up to the second floor is located. Leo immediately finds a balcony, creeps towards to open it, ushering his friends to move quickly. The rain had stopped but the sky remained looming with dark clouds.

“Step 1 accomplished— Why aren’t we going up more? Her room’s on the fourth floor.” Truscott asks.

Leo analyzes the slabs of marble stacked together to see if they can scale it.

“Because there’re soldiers patrollin’ the fourth floor and if we make mistakes, we’d be caught in no time flat.”

Feravis puts down his bag, takes out his crossbow and loads it up with arrows. He takes four clever shots to connect to the third-floor balcony, and another four shots to connect that balcony to the terrace where Lady Sunniva’s room is in.

Climbing up to the third floor was easy, though with all four of them standing on the narrow balcony cramped, it was a tight squeeze.

Truscott was the first to climb up and reach the edge of Lady Sunniva’s terrace.

She stayed, crouched down on the outer side of the marbled railings but leaned in to hear any sounds. There was some rustling of papers, and in her focus, she heard a woman’s voice.

Now, she’s never met the Lady. The day they entered the Glasse Duchy, there was a search order for her as she ran away in the middle of the night, weeks prior. It might be another woman’s voice for all she knows. But she still hears the rambling of this woman.

“Everything will be fine.” The woman says before she starts humming.

“Your turn,” Leo places a hand on Gray's shoulder.

He laughs a reply. “You must be joking. I went second last time.”

“You two went first so I can catch either of you when you fall.”.

“If! If we fall—One of these days your smarts will run out.”

He grabs onto Leo who helps push him up to reach the first arrow notched. Gaining confidence from that, he reaches for the second one in haste and loses his grip. He tips backwards and lets out a little yelp. His tail reflexively grabs onto the second notch, but Leo already has his arms wide ready to catch him. Pulling himself up the second notch, this time he focused before grabbing the third notch, lodging it in slightly to stabilize his ascent.

“I heard something squeal.”

Leo and Feravis look at each other, hearing a soldier descend the stairs from the fourth floor.

“Oh, conkers, you were right!” Fer cries in whispers, cocking an arrow on his crossbow.

“Too bad we have to climb up the third floor, anyways!” Gray hisses. “How can you run out of smarts already!?”

As the soldier descended, Feravis was quick to hide but Leo couldn’t move in time, watching over Gray. The soldier sees Leo on the close balcony, with his arms open and looking above.

“Hey!” He marches over, opening the balcony door. “What are you doing?”

Eyes wide open, he looks to the side and seeing Feravis no longer with him there, he turns back to the soldier. He opens the door, Gray grinding his teeth at the decision, and walks forward.

"I heard there's rain comin’ and thought I’d do a ritual we do back at Rapsa; Goes somethin’ like this." Leo jumps on one foot while swirling his arms around.

The soldier, not buying the lie, pushes him to the side. "What are you actually doing here?"

He looks around to see no one and turns back to Leopold in confusion. Feravis, currently dangling from the side of the balcony, one-foot tipped toeing on the arrow he notched, looks up with his crossbow still loaded. He raises and shoots the soldier from where he was hiding.

It hits his ribcage, as he groans at the sudden pain. He looks to his side then sees a stranger dangling on the balcony floor, his eyes widened. That kind of shot could’ve killed a man if not for the armor he wore.

“An attack!” He unsheathed his sword, only to for it to hit a stone pillar.

The four tilt their head, watching the weapon cascade the cliffside.

Although he was nearing the top, Gray decided to jump off, unsheathing his own sword, pointing it downwards at the soldier. The soldier notices his presence and steps back and away. Gray lands with a knee on the ground and his sword clashing with the stone flooring of the balcony.

“You missed.” Leo points out.

“Aiming is for ugly people.”

Feravis pulls himself up, perching the edge of the railings like a creep, another arrow knocked into his crossbow. He fires at the soldier’s legs, it lodges through. He looked up, hearing Gray’s comment.

Gray puts a hand on his chest, “And I still love you regardless.”