"There's another issue," Kyler starts which turns all our heads towards him. This time his face is pale, and he is struggling a bit to breathe. I am concerned and quickly rush over, caressing his cheek and looking him deep in the eyes, making sure he will not pass out. He can only smile and whispers to me, "I am okay." 

He releases from our contact, and I take a step back realizing what I did. I want to slap myself but restrain as I can only take a staggering breath. 

"The king, he ---" Kyler freezes a moment as his thoughts swirl deep within the hollows of his own mind. "He is promoting me to be a personal knight." 

"Blasphemy!" Asmodeus shouts, and I cannot help but nod my head in stunned agreement. What game is the king playing; it feels like he is always one step ahead, and we are always stuck behind in thick, high mud. For the love of Gala, he must know that I am alive, or, well, partly at least. 

"He has to know something," Celia whispers to herself. Yet, with my enhanced hearing, I pick up on it rather well. I look at her and we meet eye contact, my nod confirming her suspicions. 

"Well," I say loudly, almost with complete confidence settling deep within my voice, "we can use this to our advantage."

"How?"

"You can tell us where the king is hiding. There surely must be a way that we can use this to be positive, right?"

Asmodeus seems to enlighten from that idea and nods his head in agreement, “Brilliant thoughts, Alice. I agree fully." 

I give a slight smile, but it does not seem to match my eyes. I can tell by the way that Asmodeus grimaces, and I must let out a sigh before shaking my head. Happiness does not simply seem to fit the situation in any sort of fashion. I can try to be positive, but, without a doubt, it is difficult. 

"Well, is there any way you can report back here?" 

"Yes, my schedule is free during the evens. But I won't be able to see your mum anymore."

"For the love of Gala!" I shout and kick one of the legs of the table, it instantly cracking, and the table seems to slant slightly. Celia lets out a huff and crosses her arms,

"Stop ruining my bloody furniture, Alice!" 

"I don't give two damns about your furniture, Celia," my voice is full of venom as I stomp my foot on the ground, taking a deep breath in a pathetic attempt to calm down.

"Enough," Asmodeus's voice is low but commanding, and it shakes me to my core despite not wanting to be intimidated. I feel the need to look up to him as my spine shivers without me wanting it to. Is this the effect he always has on people? It is rather, well, scary I must admit.

"It is not a good situation, but we need to take advantage of it. For we shall meet again in two days' time. I can't do much, but I can use my alliance with some of the surface kingdoms to gather my information."

"You have alliances with land kingdoms?" Celia asks with curiosity in her voice. 

"I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve," Asmodeus smiles, and I cannot help but be astounded by the mere mountain of a man. Or rather a monster. I cannot decipher how to feel of him and his very presence; part of me trusts him, but the other part of me is told to run, flee, to never look back, and cross somewhere in any other direction. My Gala, he is scary, to say the least. 

"Well," Celia claps her hands together and gives a pain-filled grin . "If that is all for tonight, I agree, let's meet in two rotations time."

We all seem to agree, and I can only hope and pray to the gods that everything will work itself out. My Gala, hope does not seem to get me very far, though. 

---

"Hello, would you like to buy some jewelry, Miss?"

"No thank you."

"What about you, sir? We have a fine s---"

"No." 

I let out a 'tsk' as the man continues to walk on his way. The clouds littered the sky, but the sun manages to peek through. Little patches of frost are scattered amongst the ground, and when anyone speaks, a cloud seems to form from their vocals. 

"Is it always this hard?" I ask Celia and she lets out a little laugh while holding a necklace in her hand, looking for a mannequin to place it on. It is a silver necklace with an Argentine gem placed in the middle. For it sparkles with purple in the middle that fades into orange at the edge. 

"What can I say, I am not really here to sell jewelry. It is more of a, well, you remember."

"An overseeing gig, yeah yeah, I got you." 

"You know," Celia finds what she is looking for and she manages to put it on one of the mannequins. It looks truly beautiful, and I cannot help but admire the beautifully crafted with each little chain. 

"Are they magic enhanced, Celia?" I ask as my eyes catch the little aura that radiates from the gem. When I was human, I would have never noticed it, but now, it seems to be as clear as day. How odd, things do change. 

"Just a small luck spell is all. I figure my customers deserve something if they're willing to spend the money."

"How come it didn't work for me?" I mumble quietly, but Celia lets out a fit of laughter as she wipes a tear from her face, mumbling something to herself that I cannot quite pick up on. 

"How can you be so positive," I ask Celia, and she seems to be in thought for a moment before releasing a little smile. 

"I suppose that, despite the uncertainty, that Tyche might have a bit of fate on our side." 

"Well, I don't believe in fate after this entire fiasco." 

"That's where you're wrong, little one." She messes with a bit of jewelry, this time a bracelet, whilst talking to me. 

"Even if you stop believing, she will be there to help."

"Or hurt," I mumble quietly to myself. I shake my head while taking a necklace in my hand and continue to showcase it to anyone who might spare a glance in my direction.

Things are going just fine until a scent seems to enter my nose. I simply must throw up as it seems foul, overall, just . . . vile. I try not to gag, but I alert Celia with a little nudge to her shoulder. I try to let her follow my hand signal as I slowly point in the direction of the smell. Only then do I spot a mop of blonde hair, and a robe that is worn with royal blue. I narrow in my eyes, and I recognize it to be Aiden, if I remember correctly.

"Aiden," Celia whispers, and she walks out from her shop, jogging even. She disappears into the crowd, and I am left to man the shop all by myself. I simply just smile and, sometimes, flip and curl my hair around my fingertip. Only then do I pick up on a conversation,

"Did you hear about Joseph Naneif?"

"No, what happened?"

"Apparently he was found in the forest brutally mutilated. His shoulder was ripped off and his organs were found scattered around the area. They say it must have been a murder but from a beast. Some suggest a werewolf."

"Shame, we were only drinking with him the night of. Though he was plastered beyond words."

I let out a shiver because I know they are likely talking about the man I killed, so he has a name now. . . Joseph Naneif. What if he had a family, children, a loyal wife? I just took that away from him because I could not control my primal urges. My Gala what have I done? I cannot help the guilt, for it rolls off my body in waves. I can only let out a sigh. 

My mind is interrupted when a voice knocks me out of my trance,

"Miss? How much is this bracelet?"

"Oh, hi, Madam!" I curtsey slightly while giving a bright smile. It feels quite a bit odd with the necklace attached, shielding my fangs, but I ignore the feeling and brace for the answer that Celia instilled deep within me.

"That would be five gold and seven silvers, Madam." 

"Oh, lovely, I'll take it!" 

I go ahead and package up the bracelet. She is the third customer today; Celia's quota was three on the dot, so I suppose things are going quite well assuming that the reason is that I am, well, modeling the jewelry. What can I say, I am quite the model.

"Have a good day, Madam," I say as I hand her the bag. She gives me the change and we exchange final greetings. I let out a shallow breath as Celia returns, this time with Aiden in toe. 

"Aiden, this is my apprentice, Isla. She is still trying to develop her magic; we think it might even be blood magic."

"Oh, how exciting! Well, I specialize in light magic as well as particle magic."

"A dual wielder how rare." I sound aloud and he agrees proudly. I cannot help but feel a smudge disgusted by the scent that rolls off his shirt. I do not think he smells to the normal mortal, as Celia does not seem to recoil in the slightest, but I cannot help but feel overall, grossed out. Could this mean something? Certainly not, right?

"Were you at Gala?" I ask, and I cannot help but feel slightly off. That is not meant to slip out of my mouth, but it is almost programmed, automatic. How odd and peculiar, for why does my mouth say those words when it is not meant to be anything?

He scratches his head and lets out a small smile, "I was not. Despite being invited, my mentor, Elder Mahnue, and I conducted field research that day." 

Eye twitch, mouth hesitance, muscle restraint, and nose leaned; he is lying. Perhaps it is not a full lie, but there is something that he is holding back, and now I need to know what. Perhaps he was at Gala and was fixing up something, or that his field of study was a bit later and so he was able to go pay his respects before the actual Gala started? How odd, maybe he is just, well, lying? 

"What about you, Isla?" I take a moment to process the question as I catch a quick glance at Celia who seems to nod her head quickly. I let out a smile, but it is difficult to keep it genuine when I know that he has just lied straight to my face. I am thankful to Mama for teaching me when people lie; there are very specific ques, and without them, well, it is safe to say that this has saved me multiple times in life so far. Perhaps this is one of those moments. Or perhaps not, maybe my intuition is wrong. 

"Yes, it was quite majestic. I can't believe what happened to Alice, though." What am I doing? This is not supposed to be what I am saying! Why is my mouth talking before my head even has a chance to comprehend what I am saying? 

"Oh, what a shame," he says quietly as his eyes appear to be sad. Genuine, well, I am unsure. But, deep within I can see an emotion that I cannot name. Fear? Dismay? Horror? Why though? I get the incident is scary and, well, overall, just a horrid situation, but he should not feel any emotion. "I heard that she was killed in the infirmary. Some say that magic was involved." 

"By Gala, no way!" 

"It spread like a wildfire, but they are just rumors. No one knows why she was wanted dead, however." He lets out a sigh and brings his hand to his head, rubbing his temples. This time it is an act of honesty, or a small bit, as far as I can tell. However, deep within his movements, I remember that touching the face is an act of guilt. Could he possibly know something? 

"My Gala!" He says as he looks at his pocket watch that is hidden in a jacket sleeve. "I am afraid I have to hurry as I have mentoring. Fair well and pleased to meet you, Isla!" 

He hustles off back into the crowd, and I look at Celia was dismay pumping through my veins and horror soaring through my heart. Something is very off with Aiden, and I have this odd feeling about him. Is he lying straight to my face without an ounce of sympathy in his heart?    

"Your face looks distraught, Isla." I let out a click of the tongue at that name. I simply just do not like it. My head turns to Celia, and I release a hesitant breath into the cool air. It is released as a cloud into the wind.

"He was lying, Celia."