“Spare you and your daughter in exchange for the lives of these three, right?”

“That's right.”

What are you saying…?

“Are we still in agreement?”

Why are you doing this…?

“Luna… This is what's best for you. For all of us.”

I don't understand…

“Soon you'll be reunited with your mother, Aqua…”

With Mom…? But she's dead…

“I'm sure your siblings will see you very soon.” 

Where are Violet and Eon…?

“I love you.”

I love you, too, so why…?

My stepmother shoved me in front of the armed hunters. They raised their guns.

“Please forgive me for this.” She looked at me with a pained gaze but she continued to stand a distance behind me. A distance far enough to ensure her own safety. 

I heard the piercing sound of a gunshot as I screamed with all I could muster.

I was woken up by my own screaming and I quickly shot out of bed.

I panted heavily and tried to steady my breathing. Just the memory of that night was enough to scare me again.

Violet… Eon… Where are you…?

I thought of how they had vanished without a trace, how my stepmother had sent them off to be killed under the guise of an 'errand', how she was going to send me off to be killed too... and felt my eyes begin to water.

If Noelle and Crimson hadn't saved me, I really would have…

It was terrifying to imagine. I had just barely escaped death. But I still didn't know Violet and Eon's situation and that thought never stopped haunting me.

What if they aren't alive…?

I trembled and let out a pathetic whimper. I knew I shouldn't think of the worst case scenario but it was hard to stop my tears from overflowing.

“H-Hey, are you okay, Luna?!” 

At the sudden voice calling me, I snapped out of my thoughts. I hadn't noticed in my fear but my roommate, Ettie, was sitting beside my bed, her eyes filled with concern.

She must have come over here to check on me…

I was touched by her kindness but I felt bad waking her.

“I… I'm alright…” I clenched the blanket and took a deep breath. “I… just had a bad dream, that's all…”

“You don't look 'alright' to me! You're drenched in sweat and you were screaming!” She frowned.

“Um… I'm sorry for waking you.” 

“I don't care about that! I care about you!”

I was surprised by her reaction. I was sure she would be annoyed with me for waking her this early in the morning.

“Now, what's wrong?” Ettie put her hands on mine in a comforting gesture. “Talk to me, Roomie!” 

“There's nothing really to talk about… I just had a bad dream about the past.”

Well, more like a traumatic memory.

I thought bitterly.

“The past? Like with your siblings?” She asked.

“Mm…” I nodded. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” 

“....Not really.”

I would probably start crying if I did. I turned my gaze back to Ettie to distract myself from my thoughts. I noticed she had a scar on her left eye where her eye patch would be.

“Wondering about my eye?” She must have noticed my gaze.

“Oh… I, um, didn't mean to stare…”

“Nah, it's fine! Nothing that interesting, though. Let's just say my ex-girlfriend didn't take the breakup well!” 

She laughed but I didn't get what was so humorous about it. “Did you just say your ex-girlfriend did that to you—?”

“But enough about me!” Ettie interrupted me with a clap of her hands. “Since you don't wanna talk about it, I won't put a damper on things either! Let's talk about something fun instead! C'mon, scooch over!” 

Ettie squeezed in and took a seat next to me on the bed. It was a little cramped. 

I stared at her confusedly and Ettie smiled. “Well, you can't sleep, right? So let's have some girl talk until you're sleepy again!”

“Um, what do you mean by 'girl talk'? I've never done that before…”

“Hmm, it can be a lot of things! It can be any secret talk between girls, but most of the time it involves romance! Likeee, 'who do you have a crush on?' and whatnot!”

“I've never fallen in love before so I can't really give you an answer…” 

“Really? You seemed like a maiden in love when Boss was carrying you like a princess!”

“W-Wh…?!” I sputtered. “I-I was just surprised to be carried like that so suddenly! I-It didn't mean anything!”

“Uh huh… explain why you're stuttering then?” She giggled mischievously.

“That's because you're asking me weird questions!”

“Suuure. Is that really why? You sure you don't have a crush on her or anything?” 

I paused before defending myself and thought back to earlier today. How warm Blaze's body heat was when she held me in her arms so protectively. How pretty her red eyes were as they gazed into me…

“It's true Blaze is handsome and beautiful but that doesn't mean I have a crush on—”

“Woah, woah, woahhh!” Ettie raised her hand up to stop me from speaking. “So, you think Boss is handsome and beautiful?!” 

“Undeniably, but you can think someone is handsome or beautiful without being attracted to them.”

“Undeniably, though?!”

“I-It's just a fact!”

“You're totally crushing on her! Awww!” Ettie squealed and gave my arm a little nudge.

“L-Look, I think you're very cute and Celine is very pretty as well, but I'm not attracted to either of you! It's like that!”

Ettie looked surprised once I complimented her but she giggled happily. “Awww, you roomie, you!” She slapped my back playfully. “I think you're cute and pretty, too! I never thought a giant ribbon like that would look good on anyone, y'know!”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Nah, I think it's cute!” 

I still felt like she was poking fun at how I dress.

It was Noelle's idea, anyway...

I knew it didn't suit me, but I did like that ribbon. 

…Whatever. I don't care what others think of it. I'll wear what I want to.

But still, I pouted a little.

“Anyway, I get what you mean! Buuut I'm sure your feelings towards Boss are different from how you feel towards me and Cellie!”

“And what makes you so sure?”

“Well, you're all red cause you were thinking of Boss, weren't you?”

I couldn't even deny it and that was the annoying part. I kept opening my mouth to come up with a comeback and closing it because I couldn't.  

“Ooh! Bullseye!” Ettie giggled.

“Only because you were talking about her! I wasn't even thinking of her until you brought her up!”

“Sure, sure! You liiike her, huh?” She nodded with a wide grin.

I could tell she wasn't going to give up on that (false) assumption so I decided to flip the topic back on her. 

“And what about you and Celine?”

“Oh, we're just friends!” She answered surprisingly fast with a wave of her hand, laughing awkwardly. “Cellie is nice and all but she's really not my type for a partner, haha!”

I was a little surprised. They seemed awfully close earlier and I definitely got the impression Celine was interested.

I guess it was a friendzone.

I wondered if Celine was aware of that or not.

“I'm more into the rougher types!” She sighed dreamily. “Now, someone like that could do whatever they wanted with me and I'd thank them!”

“I don't think I understand…”

“Well, I could explain what those types are, orrr—” She grinned, “—you could tell me your type instead!”

“My type…?” 

I thought about it but putting it into words was a little difficult.

“Um, I-I guess I like the idea of someone strong and cool protecting me…” I fiddled with my fingers, trying to figure out how to best describe it. “Like a 'leader' type, maybe…?”

“Sounds like Boss! You two are perfect for each other!” She squealed. “Oh, but Boss has never talked about that kinda stuff, so I don't know her type!”

I couldn't exactly deny that Blaze fell under that category but it was still embarrassing to admit. “I guess it's not… an entirely inaccurate description…?”

“Right, right! That being said, so you're into 'leader' types, huh… Is that why you're also so interested in Crime's leader?”

“Whuh…?!”

I was so flabbergasted by the question that a stupid noise came out of my mouth.

“I-I'm not interested in Crime's leader! I've never even met him!? What gave you the impression I was…!?”

“Welll, you are a Crime fangirl, sooo…” 

“I'm not!? Look, I know you don't believe me, but I'm seriously just trying to gather information on the organization so I can find my siblings!” 

Ettie nodded slowly with a smile. “Uh huh… Suuure…”

She totally didn't believe me.

It's true I have a thing for bad boys, but she doesn't need to know that!

Besides, that was only in my favorite novels! I didn't want that sort of thing in real life! And with Crime's leader, of all people! 

“Woah, your face is all scrunched up, Roomie!”

“And whose fault do you think that is?” 

“Well, you don't look sad anymore, so I'd say our girl talk was a success! Hehe!” Ettie laughed with a cheerful smile.

“Huh…?”

Was she… trying to cheer me up…?

Now that she mentioned it, I had gotten so lost in our conversation that I had forgotten about the nightmare I just had.

“Are you feeling better now?” Ettie asked with a smile.

“Oddly enough…”

“If you are, then you should probably get some sleep! We're gonna search for your siblings tomorrow, after all!”

I felt an uneasiness in my chest at the mention of my siblings. “But, what if they’re…”

…No longer alive?

The dream was coming back to me. Just as I thought of it again, Ettie pinched my cheeks.

“Ouch…!?”

“Don't say that!” She frowned at me with a pout. “We're gonna find them!”

It was like she had read my mind or something. She knew what I was about to say.

“But…”

“No buts! We're gonna find your siblings and give you a happy reunion! I promise!” Ettie raised her pinky. “Pinky promise!”

It didn't seem like Ettie had any intention of lowering her pinky until I promised, so I raised my pinky and intertwined it with hers. The gesture was surprisingly comforting. It reminded me of something Noelle used to do.

Once we lowered our pinkies, Ettie looked at me with concern. “Are you gonna be okay? We can still talk if you're not ready to go back to bed yet.”

“I think… I'll be okay.” My fears felt like they had left me, at least for tonight. 

Ettie smiled. “Well, that's good! I'm gonna try and get some rest now, but you can wake me up whenever you want!”

“I wouldn't do that…”

“I don't mind, though! We're friends, after all!”

I was surprised to be told that with such a wide smile. 

“Friends…?” I wondered aloud.

“Roomies, friends, whatever you wanna call it! At least, I thought we were!” Ettie scratched her cheek and laughed a little awkwardly. “Unless you're not okay with that?”

“N-No, I'm okay with it… I was just… surprised you saw me as one so quickly, to be honest. I feel like Robin and Celine are still wary of me…” 

“Well, I don't think there's anything to be wary of! You're just a little goofy, is all! And I wanna be your friend!”

I didn't know whether I should be offended by that comment or not, but the idea that she actually wanted to be friends with me made me a little happy. I had never had a friend before.

“Um, if you're really okay with me, I would want to be friends…” I mumbled a little more sheepishly than I intended to.

“Yeah! I'm more than okay with you!” She grasped my hands with a beaming smile. “So, we're friends now, okay?” 

She sounded so genuine that I couldn't help but smile in spite of myself. “Okay.” 

Ettie released my hands with a satisfied grin at my response and made her way back to her own bed with a skip. Once she plopped her head onto her pillow, she turned her head to face me.

“Night, Roomie!” She whispered with a wide smile.

I decided to rest my head on the pillow again. Talking to Ettie helped me feel calmer and I could feel myself grow sleepier now that I let my exhaustion take over.

“Good night, Ettie…” I whispered.

I've come this far, haven't I? I couldn't give up hope yet.

We will find Violet and Eon.

I closed my eyes with that in mind, so that I could have a more pleasant dream tonight…