Chapter 9

Whilst Kairi stood dead centre in the training room and had her eyes closed in concentration, Stein, who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, had taken to muttering under his breath about how dead he would be once his mother found Kairi out of bed; and how Seloria was going to skin him alive – or something along those lines, Karyme was not too sure. Her gaze remain fixated on the youngest, and Aydan hummed thoughtfully at the back of her mind.

‘Do you think she’ll be able to do it?’ she asked her Swordian mentally after a moment of watching Kairi in silence. Aydan hummed again.

If her weapons are what I think they are, she will. The Swordian’s response made Karyme blink in surprise. Did he know something she did not? Before she could question Aydan further, a quick flare of magic and a muffled curse from Kairi had her snapping her head in the cocoa-haired teen’s direction. When had she look away? Karyme could not remember. Beside her, Stein raised an eyebrow at said teen, who giggled a bit sheepishly.

“Mystics are… rather childish,” Kairi began by way of explanation – which was not much of one. She huffed a little and settled herself on the ground, sitting cross-legged. “This will take a while.”

From the corner of her eyes, Karyme noted that Stein regarded the now-appearing-to-be-meditating teen silently for a few minutes before rolling his eyes and sighing. “Time to face the music,” he said, pushing off the wall and sauntering towards the door. The minor task accomplished resulted in the older duo exchanging glances, then laughing sheepishly in unison before Stein bolted in a mad dash around the training room with Seloria hot on his heels. Karyme retreated to a dark corner with her claymore summoned, brandishing it defensively as Yula stared her down the way a disappointed mother would.

The blonde noticed Kairi – who was supposedly meditating – crack an eye open, the girl trying her best not to laugh at Stein before resuming her meditation. Karyme mentally shrugged; she figured that if she was in Kairi’s place, she would find it amusing as well.

~*~

Rityu crossed his arms, pondering over the titbit of information he had gained from Lord Vermios as he marched towards the training room to get some practice done. Like his father, he knew of the ritual each and every Thyride had been forced to endure at some point of their lives, and Kairi’s reappearing seals did not strike him as particularly comforting.

In fact, from what the man told him, the seals were flaring brightly and almost angrily. “Almost as if trying to warn us,” Lord Vermios had said, before Rityu went on confirming the information he had sent, then walking off in search of his father. The Aitelorn middle-child scratched his head as he raked his brain for something that he may have missed.

He stopped short, however, upon noticing the door to the training room he had planned on utilizing was left open. Peering inside, Rityu was greeted with possibly the oddest scene ever to have now graced his clan’s household.

Seloria, one person he had thought would be able to remain calm and composed in a lot of situations, was chasing his younger brother around the room with her scythe swinging wildly. Stein in a very un-Stein-like manner, was running away and shouting constant apologies, though for what he did not know. Yula was lecturing the Doyle heiress over something-or-other, and Karyme herself was hiding behind her massive weapon. Kairi – silly, ridiculous Kairi, who gave her the idea of leaving the infirmary? – was in the middle of the room, seemingly meditating and not-really oblivious to the happenings about.

“…what’s going on?” he finally decided to ask after five full minutes of staring. Stein explained the situation to him – all the while running around the room and only talking when he passed him, making one very otherwise-short explanation a lengthy one. Karyme shot him a pleading look – one he never thought would appear on the Doyle heiress’ face. Rityu stared for another minute – Karyme looked about ready to cry, oddly enough – and sighed, walking in and poking his mother’s shoulder.

“Mother, I think she gets it already. Have pity on the guest.”

As he expected, his mother whipped around and stared him down – being on the receiving end of the Healer’s stares one too many times, he’d grown somewhat immune to it – and he raised an eyebrow. “Mother,” he tried again, “they’re teens. Rule-breaking is bound to be one of their priorities. Remember when Phiol and I-“

“Okay, I get your point,” Yula snapped – there was that affectionate undertone in it, so Rityu was not all too worried – and rolled her eyes. She did not look all too convinced at letting them go, however. The middle Aitelorn son shrugged.

“Kairi’s sitting down, so that can be counted as resting, don’t you think?” he ventured. Yula turned to look at Kairi (who appeared to really be meditating now, considering the fact she stopped peeking at the room’s situation) and sighed, nodding before glancing over at her youngest and allowing a small smirk to form on her lips. Karyme decided she’d best hide behind both her claymore and Rityu, for that smirk on Yula’s face was disturbing.

“Ah well… let’s let Stein run for his life even more now, shall we?” The sentence was spoken in such a sweet tone that Rityu nearly missed the sadistic gleam in his mother’s eyes. He slapped a hand to his forehead, groaning.

‘Good luck, little bro,’ he thought, inching himself (and subsequently, Karyme) closer to the corner. ‘I don’t want to be in your shoes right now.’

~*~

It took her a while but once she managed to concentrate, Kairi completely lost track of what was happening in the training room. Mystics were within her psyche, she knew, but they felt… out of reach. It was frustrating.

We’re right here, she heard them call out to her countless times. But whenever she reached out to grasp them, they slipped through her fingers rather tauntingly. It was annoying. Very, very annoying. Kairi swore she had yet to feel such an amount of frustration since she was first given Mystics to wield…

…Wait a minute…

Was that what she was supposed to do? Summon them as if she had never summoned Mystics before? That realization seemed to bring the gap between her and her weapons closer, and inwardly, Kairi smirked.

We’re right here, they called again. Instead of reaching out to grasp them like she did before, the cocoa-haired teen remained as she was. As if surprised, Mystics recoiled before calling for her again, moving towards her at the same time. This time, Kairi reached out – but not as fast as she did the many times before. Slowly, almost hesitatingly, she reached for her weapons and this time, they did not slip from her grasp.

Welcome back, mistress, the voice (or perhaps it should be ‘voices’?) of Mystics greeted her. Welcome back.

In the material world, Kairi smiled. ‘Yes,’ she agreed. ‘I’m right here.’

~*~

“I got them!”

‘I have to thank that girl for her awesome sense of timing later,’ Stein thought, flopping onto the ground tiredly as Kairi jumped up from her sitting position. She blinked rather innocently at both her sister and the Aitelorn matriarch, smiling and tilting her head to one side.

Seloria promptly marched up to her sister. “Who gave you the smart idea of running out of the infirmary?” she asked, an eyebrow quirked in a manner Stein thought only mothers could do -- Yula probably gave Seloria lessons.

Kairi’s answer was innocently-phrased: “No one.” Stein did not have to look up to see the innocent smile he knew she had on her face. Before anyone could say anything else, Phiol popped his head into the room.

“Ah, that’s great. You’re both in the same place,” Phiol said, stepping in. He raised an eyebrow at the room’s occupants, but said nothing about them. “Stein, Kairi,” the aforementioned duo either nodded or raised an eyebrow, “Father wants to meet you both in his study.”

Kairi nodded and walked over to him, offering a hand to pull him up – which he accepted quite gratefully. “Oh, and he says he wants you both there in five minutes,” Phiol added, causing Stein to groan and Kairi to pat his arm sympathetically.

“…race you,” the cocoa-haired teen said simply. Darn her, did she not know he was incapable of turning down a challenge?

…Wait, she did know.

Stein growled. “You’re going down,” he said. Kairi grinned.

“We’ll see,” she answered easily. Both took down the hallway at an unknown signal… and knocked Phiol aside as they went. The “sorry” they tossed over their shoulders had Phiol and Rityu laughing, for reasons the remaining females present did not know nor understand.

~*~

“I reached first!”

“No, I did!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

Nerion’s attempt at appearing strict was failing, he knew – his lips were threatening to split into a small, amused smile. Abel was already openly laughing beside him at the duo’s antics. He cleared his throat to get their attention, and the duo turned to him rather sheepishly.

“Now that that’s settled,” Nerion said, his tone amused – was it possible for anyone to be more sheepish than they already were? – as Abel calmed his laughter. “We just got word that I’yn would be targeted next.”

Kairi’s reaction was almost instantaneous. “Isn’t that…?” she questioned, frowning. Nerion nodded, pausing to shift through several folders that littered the table he sat behind. He really did not want to send the two youngest under his command out on what he was sure to be a ruthless, brutal battle, but he did not have a choice. Abel needed Rityu, he was sure, and both Phiol and Seloria needed to stay within Destila for the time being – they could not afford being weak.

“I’m dispatching you both,” he said, tossing two similar folders in the air – he felt a surge of pride when the duo in front of him slipped on their poker faces with surprising ease, snatching the folders from mid-air without any hesitation.

Kairi was definitely a speed-reader, judging from how quickly her eyes darted across the pages. Stein went a little bit slower, taking the time to note details Kairi would have missed at the speed she read. Both glanced up a moment later, exchanging looks before turning their attentions back to the two leaders before them.

“They plan to get to I’yn from Jajya?” Kairi’s tone was rather devoid of emotion. Stein smacked her upside the head and she turned and pouted. Nerion resisted the urge to laugh – trust Stein to get Kairi back to acting normal.

“From the looks of it, yes,” Nerion said instead, leaning back on his chair. “I know this is your first mission, but there is no room for failure. We have talked to Patricius and Beyza; they will be departing for their country within the next 48 hours. You both are to leave within the next 18 hours.”

“Normal travel to I’yn takes a day and a half, with half a day on ship,” Stein muttered, thinking. “Which means Kairi and I have around 5 hours for rest and one hour preparation before heading off. Considering our speed and elemental affiliation, we could reach the docks within 12 hours.”

Abel nodded. “When you reach I’yn, you are expected to explore the area, note down areas that are susceptible to attacks and areas that could be converted for healing purposes. Also, keep an eye out for places that would be targeted for surprise attacks. More people will be deployed at the same time the Doyles’ are ready to leave.”

Stein nodded; Nerion could see the gears turning in his head. Kairi appeared to be that bit uncomfortable with the idea, but she nodded anyway. Rolling his eyes, Stein smacked the younger teen upside the head again. Kairi growled lowly, but turned to Nerion and Abel with a smile which appeared to be far too sweet.

“If there’s nothing else, we’ll take our leave,” she said ever-so sweetly, and Stein had enough common sense to start running. Nerion saw that Kairi allowed Stein that little two to three second head-start – she was just that much faster in comparison – while she bowed her leave before turning and proceeded to chase Stein around the castle.

“Well,” Abel said after a moment, “with those two around, the castle is never boring, huh?”

Nerion rolled his eyes and nodded.

~*~

Seloria was not sure if she was proud of her sister’s calm, if not full, acceptance of her first mission. “I’ll be fine,” she insisted while packing – just two changes of clothes; she needed to travel light. “Don’t worry so much.”

“I’ll be fine when you’re back here,” she told the younger Thyride instead, her fingers fiddling with the already-worn string of her eye patch. Kairi finished packing, shoving her sling bag to a corner on her bed before jumping off it and landing neatly on Seloria’s.

“You worry too much,” the younger teased with a grin. “And stop fiddling with the string, you’ll snap it. It’s brittle enough as it is.”

Kairi was right, Seloria realized. She had traded her more fancy-looking eye patches for a standard medical eye patch when helping out with the repair works. She sighed and sat on the bed, and Kairi, as if understanding the elder’s hesitance, scooted closer to her, resting her head on the other’s shoulder.

“I’m your sister; it’s in the job description to worry,” Seloria answered, and Kairi grinned.

“What’s in the job description for being Phiol’s personal helper, then?”

“Oh, the usual – whack him on the head if he starts to slack off, make sure he remembers to eat… things like that.”

“Ah, so you’re like his mum,” the cocoa-haired teen affirmed in mock-wise tone. Seloria stared at her blankly for a moment before the sisters exploded into giggles.

~*~

Karyme found the Duo (as she had gotten to calling Kairi and Stein in her head – the capital included) in possibly the earliest hour she had ever woken up (really, who in their right mind would be awake at five in the morning?). Said Duo were performing some stretches, chatting about which route would allow them to reach their destination fastest. Neither of the Duo’s siblings were there, nor were the Aitelorn patriarch and matriarch, but Karyme guessed the siblings were forced to sleep, and Yula was the one forcing the siblings to sleep in the first place. As for the Aitelorn patriarch, Karyme spotted Nerion in what-looked-like a study room, probably going through the mission parameters again before he met up with the Duo.

“I say we take the south route,” Stein was saying when she walked up to them. Was it just her, or were the bodyguards that came with her parents all staring at the Duo rather sceptically?

“Wouldn’t cutting through the west route be faster? We’re on a rather tight time limit.” Kairi asked, still stretching as she waved at her. Karyme idly waved back as she came to a stop beside them.

“Nah, the west route’s too crowded,” Stein replied, nodding his head in greeting. “It’s a common trade route now, so our best bet would be to stick to the south route, or cut between the east and north routes. Cutting between routes might cost us some time, though, considering the fact that the north route is another common trade route.”

Kairi hummed in thought. “What about cutting between the south and east routes? Oh, oh wait. The area around the east route is developing, isn’t it?”

“You got it,” Stein confirmed, before turning his attention to Karyme, who was feeling rather bemused. “Are you planning to join us in our half-day dash to the docks?” he asked rather cheekily, and Kairi rolled her eyes.

“No,” Karyme answered, “but I’d like to point out that there are bandits wandering the south route right now. We had a rather short run-in with them on our way here.”

“Ah,” Kairi said, “in which they got served.” Stein’s sudden coughing fit sounded suspiciously like laughter, but Karyme did not call him on it, feeling rather amused by the…‘eloquent’… manner the younger female put it.

Feeling rather cheeky herself, she gave them a mock-bow (Kairi began giggling, and Stein did not bother hiding his amusement). “Why yes. By yours truly,” she said. “I’ll be doing the same thing every time I travel, so be sure to not miss it.”

“Karyme – is it all right if I called you that?” At her nod, Kairi continued. “You’re too awesome for the trade business. Please don’t go into that line of work.”

Catching on to the cocoa-haired teen’s line of thought, Karyme gave a little melodramatic sigh. “Alas,” she moaned, still rather melodramatic, “I’m an only child. If my parents would grace me with a younger sibling, however…” Stein was rolling on the ground with laughter by then.

“I see being up at five in the morning has made you rather amusing, young Karyme,” Nerion’s voice snapped Stein out of his laughing fit, both him and Kairi straightening. Karyme turned and grinned at the Aitelorn patriarch.

“I’ve been told I’m hopeless without a cup of coffee in the morning,” she supplied the not-so helpful information in a very helpful tone. Kairi sniggered. Nerion allowed a small smile.

“I’m sure of it,” he told her, refocusing his attention to his son and charge soon after. “Are you two ready?”

Both of them slid their poker faces on at the tone used. Stein nodded, and Kairi uttered an affirmative. “I trust all required information has been memorized?” Another affirmative. “You both know your objectives. Mistakes on your first mission are fine, but do not do anything that would cost someone their life. Secure I’yn. Failure to do so is not an option.”

The Duo snapped some kind of salutation then; right hand fisted above where their hearts would be, heads bowed slightly. “Affirmative, sir.”

Nerion nodded. “Well then. Be off, and may the Lords be with you.” The Duo replied in kind (“And may you and yours be blessed.”) before turning around. Behind her, Karyme could tell several of her bodyguards were going to spring into action.

So she turned around. “And what do you lot think you’re doing?” she asked, her tone and expression betraying nothing of her thoughts. The Duo turned to look at her at the tone she used, confused.

“My apologies, Miss Doyle,” one spoke, “but we do not believe that two children will be of much help for our country. We would leave with them.”

Before the Doyle heiress could say anything, Stein scoffed, and Kairi tried her best to not laugh in her family’s bodyguards’ faces. “Follow us? Seriously?” he said, his tone one of disbelief. “If speed is not what you’re trained in, don’t bother. You won’t be able to keep up.”

“If we could reach port town Fiontar – it’s more than 500 kilometres away, for your information – in an hour, what makes you think you could keep up with us?” Kairi added, an eyebrow raised. “And you do realize you’re talking to the person who kept Cain at bay when he put his Draining Barrier up, right?”

Karyme turned to Nerion, who appeared to be amused. “Fiontar in an hour? Seriously?” she asked, bemused. Nerion shrugged. “It was actually 54 minutes 19 seconds for Kairi, and 55 minutes, 54 seconds for Stein. Kairi’s bound to be faster since she’s on a full speed-increase training scheme. And as for helping… they are more than capable. I’ve trained them personally on war tactics.”

“So,” Stein turned back to the bodyguards, who shifted rather uncomfortably at those bits of information, “still coming with us?”

Kairi had rolled her eyes and turned to Stein, poking him on the shoulder to get his attention. “Race you,” she said with a grin, a competitive glint in her eyes.

Stein grinned, his eyes echoing her competitiveness. “Oh you are so going down,” he drawled, and the youngest Thyride raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see about that,” she said simply, popping her neck.

Nerion sighed. “On my count,” he said, and the Duo slung their sling bags across their shoulders. “Begin.”

Karyme did not bother hiding her amazement. All she did was blink and they were already jumping over the castle’s walls – and the walls were at least 500 metres away from where they had been standing. “Wow,” she whispered, then turned to the shell-shocked bodyguards.

“Still plan on following them?” she asked before sauntering back into the castle. Bed was calling out to her for another two hours or so of sleep.

Chapter 8

Rityu stood in silence as he watched Seloria teleport back to the Aitelorn castle with Kairi in her arms, his hands in tight fists. Had his message to Lord Vermios arrived too late? He had sent the fastest carrier bird to inform the lord too…

As if sensing his internal plight, the aforementioned lord walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You did what you could,” the green-eyed man said in barely above a whisper, giving his shoulder a soft squeeze before he let go and walked alongside his father, discussing matters in hushed tones. Rityu shook his head. ‘If this was the best I could do,’ he thought to himself, gritting his teeth, ‘it’s just not good enough.’

“Rityu?” Stein’s voice shook him out of his thoughts. His younger brother looked concerned – and more than a little confused. “Are you okay?” Rityu held his brother’s gaze for a moment before he reached out and ruffled the younger’s hair, who protested with a frown. He flashed a half-grin and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rityu uttered as they began their trek home. “It’s no big deal.”

~*~

Seloria found herself in the infirmary feeling a little disoriented, realizing why a moment later. Karyme had clung on to the teleportation spell she had used, and she had little to no practice with teleporting three people at once. The younger female gave her an apologetic smile, her face pale, and Seloria decided there was no point telling off the younger girl – it seemed quite obvious to her that Karyme needed rest, and lots of it.

She guessed Yula was alerted to their presence from her spell as the Healer rushed to their side, commanding her to place Kairi on a bed while she directed Karyme onto one beside Kairi’s.

“The Lord and Lady Doyle offered to give me some assistance,” Yula told her after the Aitelorn matriarch gave Karyme a strength-replenishing potion and making sure the girl downed its contents. Seloria moved out of the way as Yula worked, not missing the frown that crossed the Healer’s lips when she noticed the marks on Kairi’s neck. Seloria herself winced at the angry red marks; if the Doyle heiress had not distracted Cain when she had…Kairi would not even be breathing at this moment.

“…I don’t even want to know,” Yula muttered, shaking her head and casting a diagnostic spell. The results proved to be satisfactory, Seloria thought, for the Healer’s lips twitched into a small, relieved smile. “Other than some bruising and exhaustion, she’s perfectly fine,” she informed Seloria, who let out a sigh of relief herself.

“I’ll go and assist the Lord and Lady Doyle with calming the people down, then,” the scythe-wielder said, dismissing herself from the Aitelorn matriarch’s presence – who barely realized it, being so focused on healing the bruise on Kairi’s neck – and turned to the slowly-calming crowd of townsfolk with a hopefully tranquil disposition… just as Stein walked past her and through the infirmary doors.

~*~

Lord Vermios’ interaction with Rityu was odd, thought Stein, but he had other pressing matters on his mind at the moment… one being to check-up on Kairi’s wellbeing. That, he realized belatedly with a start, was entirely the reason why he barged into the infirmary (that had only two occupants on the beds), muscles tense. Karyme glanced over at him from her sitting position on a bed, her expression gave little to deduce but hinted an emotion torn between either amusement or bemusement, while his mother rolled her eyes at him.

“She’s fine,” Yula told him before he could ask, “Her injuries were easy to heal. Kairi’s merely exhausted right now, and I’m not expecting her to wake up anytime soon today.”

Stein nodded, the tension melting out of his muscles as his shoulders relaxed. He turned to the Doyle heiress then, a bit of an apologetic smile on his face for his blatant ignoring her. “How are you, Miss Doyle?”

She waved off his unspoken apology, smiling rather politely instead. “As I’ve informed your mother earlier, I merely need to catch my breath. The potion she offered, however, was much appreciated.” She paused then, as if pondering something. “I’d prefer you call me Karyme.”

Stein blinked at that then grinned a little. “Only if you’d call me Stein,” he responded a little cheekily, pulling a chair towards himself and plopping down onto it. Karyme laughed a little, a hand reaching up to daintily cover her mouth as she did so. “As you wish,” she answered, and his grin grew.

Yula rolled her eyes at him again, and he snapped a mock-salute. “Stein, I trust you to keep an eye on Kairi,” she told him – that suited him just fine, truth be told, though that fact confused him to no end. “I will be heading over to where your father is.”

With that, Yula headed out of the infirmary, its doors shutting behind her with a soft click. With that, Stein and Karyme sat there in some sort of companionable silence, both deep in thought. That silence was broken, though, when Kairi began to stir. The duo shared a glance – Yula said Kairi was not expected to wake so soon – and the youngest amongst the three woke with a start, sitting upright on the bed with orange eyes wide open yet unseeing.

‘Uh-oh,’ Stein decided, recognizing that look – that look was frequent on Kairi’s face in the first three weeks she was rescued. These ‘attacks’ (as Seloria called them) came at random; some psychological thing that he never bothered to figure out the name to, only knowing it was linked to whatever happened to her in the years she spent kidnapped.

Among all of them, his mother and Seloria were the ones who could best calm the younger down, though Phiol did a pretty good job at it himself (he was not surprised at this fact, however – his eldest brother was the one him and Rityu had often turned to when they had nightmares and were younger). He barely gave Karyme any such inkling as he stood from his chair and sat on Kairi’s bed, his hands gently settling on her trembling ones.

“Kairi. It’s me, Stein. You’re all right. We got you.”

~*~

Karyme was not particularly certain of what happened, but that blank yet scared and haunted look in Kairi’s eyes was a little… upsetting. It did not really fit the mental image she had of the younger girl – one of an always-smiling, always-upbeat teenager who wouldn’t stay down, despite the fact she only knew the younger girl for less than a day.

Goes to show that not everything can be categorized, Karyme, a deep voice chided her at the back of her head, light humour in its tone – there was that unmistakable hint of curiosity about Kairi in that voice, though. The strawberry-blonde resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that, instead shifting on the bed so her legs could dangle off the side.

Stein was still quietly calling Kairi’s name, his tone awkwardly gentle; as if he’d never done something like this before. Kairi remained unresponsive, though her shaking had lessened down a notch – a good thing, Karyme decided, considering the amount of relief running through Stein’s expression.

Encouraged by the improvement, Stein continued whatever it was he had been whispering to the younger; daring to shift closer and bring the younger female into a hug (his position would hurt his back, however). As minutes passed, the blank look in the youngest Thyride’s eyes faded a tad bit, replaced by the usual light of life that shone – albeit dimly right now – in those orange orbs. Kairi blinked once, then twice as Stein pulled away – his hands never left hers, Karyme noted.

“Kairi?” he ventured softly. The cocoa-haired teen looked around the room slowly, as if not remembering where she was. Her eyes landed on Karyme, staring at her almost inquisitively -- Karyme herself meeting the younger’s still-blank gaze with a somewhat still one of her own -- before her eyes moved on, taking in the room before stopping on Stein.

With a sigh, Kairi fell forwards, her head landing softly on Stein’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I thought this was done and over with by now. It’s just… been so long since I last had one.” Stein sighed as well, his hand reaching up to pat the back of Kairi’s head.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it,” he assured. Karyme slid off the bed then, her soft footsteps surprisingly loud in the quiet infirmary. Kairi, head still on Stein’s shoulder, turned to look at her, bangs falling in a rather haphazard fashion over her eyes as the older female stood beside the bed. Cordially, Karyme reached out and placed a hand over Kairi’s, procuring a lithe smile at the cocoa-haired teen in a reassuring manner.

“I know not much of what happened in your past,” she offered sensibly, “but whatever it was, was not your fault.” The Doyle heiress decided that whatever she said was what Kairi needed to hear, for orange eyes widened a little before that blank look in them faded away completely. A small smile graced the younger’s features then.

“Thank you.”

~*~

Nerion sighed, feeling the beginnings of a headache. Phiol was back in town with several of the town’s builders, assessing the damage done and the cost of restoring the town to its former glory. Rityu and Seloria were nearby, but found themselves in the almost constant company of some distressed town folk. Even his guests, Patricius and Beyza Doyle, found themselves helping out in the after-effects of the attack, with their only daughter stuck somewhere in its midst when the attack began.

‘I’m getting too old for this,’ he decided as Lord Vermios – or rather, just Abel to him and Yula – walked up to him, his green eyes troubled. “Lord Aitelorn-“

“Just Nerion, Abel,” he interjected. He allowed himself an amused smile when the younger male stopped in mid-sentence, jaw hanging. Nerion raised an eyebrow. “What? I, for one, have had enough of the formalities between us when you are Yula’s half-brother.”

Abel let out a quiet chuckle after a moment’s silence. “I suppose so,” he said lightly. “Right now, however, something rather… confusing… came to my attention earlier while I was working on breaking the Draining Barrier. It’s that girl,” he said, pausing a while to recall a name that Nerion already knew, “Kairi Thyride.”

Nerion nodded. “First,” he said, “how do you know Kairi’s name? Cain certainly did not tell you her name during the skirmish earlier.”

The younger male scratched the side of his cheek. “Well… I have my sources,” he answered vaguely, though the fact that Abel’s eyes flickered over to Rityu for a split second did not escape Nerion’s notice. So his middle son was involved. Nerion made a mental note to keep an eye on Rityu as he nodded for Abel to continue with his concerns.

“When I was getting about to breaking the Draining Barrier,” Abel said, his voice low, “I noticed in a quick lapse of attention that the younger Thyride had seals drawn on her right arm, and she didn’t seem to realize they were there. I’ve heard of the Thyrides needing rituals to control the demonic qualities present in their blood, but I have not heard of any one Thyride – up until their unfortunate massacre – to have the seals originally drawn on their dominant arm still showing up.”

Nerion’s eyes narrowed – this bit of information was new. Having sparred against the cocoa-haired teen alongside his youngest son, he was sure he would’ve noticed if anything out of the ordinary showed up on either one of them. The fact that he didn’t, alongside that Kairi herself didn’t notice anything odd was that bit worrying.

“Perhaps,” Nerion muttered after a moment’s thought, “it would be best for us to consult the archives. If we fail to find any information on this,” his silver eyes flickered over to Seloria for a brief moment, “Seloria might be able to help.”

Abel nodded, trusting the elder’s judgement on this matter. “There is another thing that worries me,” he confessed. “My source tells me that Cain has plans to attack another country some time within the three weeks.”

That was not at all comforting. “If we gather our people and send them there within a week, we would have a good chance of making sure that country still stands,” Nerion responded. “Which country is it?”

“Neutral country I’yn.”

Nerion resisted the urge to massage his temples. I’yn was at least two weeks away. If they didn’t deploy troops within a few days, they wouldn’t make it to I’yn on time. Yula, who had overheard what Abel said, had turned to him with wide eyes.

‘I’m really getting too old for this.’

~*~

Karyme’s easy acceptance of her attack without knowing the story behind it was confusing, Kairi thought as she ignored the older duo’s (Stein and Karyme herself) calls for her to return to the infirmary. Instead, she had jumped out of bed within minutes of recovering from said attack and ran out the door, prompting them to chase after her.

‘I need to get stronger,’ she thought, her hands tightening into fists. ‘I will not allow myself to be a burden in this war.’ Kairi pushed the doors to the training room she and Stein normally used open, marching up to the centre of the room without bothering to close the door.

Stein ran up to her and grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him. “Kairi, you need to rest,” he snapped. “You can train after resting.”

“I need to get stronger,” she reiterated her earlier thought, orange eyes narrowed slightly. “I have to. With how I am right now, I can’t be sent out to missions without making anyone worry if the mission will succeed! I cannot allow myself to be a burden to my mission partner – to you. I…” Kairi trailed off, feeling the drive that powered her sudden rant die out as she hung her head, refusing to meet their eyes, “I… can’t.”

She didn’t have to look up to see the look Stein and Karyme exchanged. She heard Karyme’s soft footsteps again and the door closing, and then she heard Stein sigh. “Okay,” he said simply, letting go of her arm. “Well first you have to get your weapons back. Think you could summon them?”

Well that was certainly not the reaction she expected. Kairi looked up only to see Stein looking at her inquiringly, arms crossed, while Karyme… Karyme had closed the door and was walking in their direction.

“Well… it’s been a long time since I did,” Kairi concurred after a moment. “I’m not sure if Mystics would answer my call.” Stein hummed in thought, and Karyme looked thoughtful.

“I don’t know if your Mystics are the same as Aydan,” Karyme started, holding a hand out and having her claymore appear in a rush of flames before she grasped its hilt, “but Aydan normally answers my calls, no matter the time period of summoning him in between.” She paused for a moment, pondering as she de-summoned her weapon. “It takes a while to summon him after a particularly long time, though.”

“So you mean to say,” Stein said, his tone questioning, “that the longer the time period between summoning your weapon, the longer it takes to actually summon it and vice versa.”

Karyme nodded. “Precisely,” she agreed, before both turned to look at Kairi, who had taken a few steps back. She smiled at them.

“Only one way to find out, don’t you think?”

Chapter 7

Kairi weaved her way through the panicking crowd with little trouble, calm eyes taking in everything yet nothing. She did have to divert through several longer routes to avoid the stampede of rushing people, however, and that had caused the slight delay to reach her destination.

The brunette was mentally cursing that fact when her ears picked up on someone’s not-so distant pleas to let them go. She dashed through the alley she was in to get to the once-not clearing, cussing audibly when she saw a lady and child who were cowering from their attacker – a man she and her sister remembered with little fondness. The silver haired, yellow-eyed man looked no different from the one in Kairi’s memories – complete with the same sadistic smile on his face. “Cain,” Kairi hissed with more than just venom in her voice when said person made to strike the defenceless duo with the sword he held.

Remembering the replacement spell Yula taught her just days ago, Kairi hurriedly casted it and allowed her position to switch with that of the vulnerable duo, her Wind-elemental shield raised immediately and deflecting the strike from Cain’s sword. “Run, quickly!” Kairi called to the woman and her child, eyes still focused on the man before her.

“Ah, Kairi Thyride,” the man before her spoke as he angled his sword away from Kairi’s shield, listening to the quickly receding footsteps of his almost victims. “Imagine my surprise when I went looking for you two months ago only to find the people I ordered to contain you dead.” His tone was one of mock-disappointment.

“I’m not sorry at all,” Kairi spat, orange eyes narrowed. Briefly, she wondered if her weapons would answer her summoning – it had been a while since she’d called upon them, and all the times she spent training with Stein they had utilized mere wooden weapons. But Kairi found she had no time to consider summoning them to her aid as Cain did not take her response favourably, launching a vicious spell in her direction.

Kairi flipped away from the incoming fireballs, frowning when she found she could not move beyond the clearing they were in. ‘When did he have time to cast a barrier?’ she wondered, rolling away from a sudden ice spike.

“Reinforcements better come soon,” she muttered under her breath, dodge-rolling under a swing from Cain’s sword and lashing out with a kick.

~*~

Karyme found the weapons shop with ridiculous ease, dashing inside and immediately bumping into the very person she was looking for. Said person blinked at her, confused by the seemingly unnerved expression on her face though his hands remained securely fastened around the package he had picked up for his father. The…quake…the blonde deduced, had not reached this part of the city after all. “Is something the matter, Miss Doyle?” Stein asked. Noticing Kairi’s poncho in her grasp, his eyes narrowed slightly. “Where’s Kairi?”

The older recited to Stein word-for-word of what Kairi informed her earlier. She watched as Stein’s eyes widened for a split second before narrowing once more. He nodded and gestured for her to follow him. As the pair arrived briskly back at the Aitelorn castle, Karyme observed that majority of the town folk, if not all, had already gathered within the sanctuary of a castle.

She continued to wordlessly follow the youngest Aitelorn, watching attentively as Stein marched into the meeting room without any hesitation whatsoever. A hasty but somewhat necessary action, the blonde figured, recollecting beforehand-mentioned instructions that the meeting’s progression was not to be interupted. It seemed the room’s occupants were yet informed of the ill happenings outside either.

“Cain is here,” Stein announced bluntly, steeling a new tenseness within the space’s atmosphere.

~*~

Stein was not all that surprised to see the occupants of the meeting room stand in shock – Cain’s influence and the horrors he brought were beyond infamous, after all. “Are you absolutely sure, Stein?” Seloria asked, her sole eye slightly narrowed. There was a certain edge in the older female’s voice that Stein did not like – it was one of barely concealed rage.

“More than half of the towns folk can testify to that,” Karyme answered instead from behind him, and Stein nodded to her in thanks as he dropped the package he was holding onto the table. Rather hastily, he worked himself away from his parents and brothers’ grasp, silently cursing himself for not being prepared with his weapons – he now had to dash to his room to grab hold of his swords.

“Stein!” Rityu called as he once again evaded their grasps and dashed out of the meeting room hurriedly. He turned ever so slowly, expression one of pure annoyance as he regarded adults who had to ask too many questions when someone was waiting for back up.

“I,” he said slowly, as if talking to children who did not understand why they could not have ice-cream before dinner, “am going to my room to grab my weapons. After that, I’m going to run back out with them. Kairi is currently facing Cain alone, and she specifically told Karyme that she needed back up so I am going to go back. Her. Up.”

Feeling much better now that he had managed to shock them into silence (Karyme was looking at him rather amused, though), Stein made a mad dash to his room. Rather frantically, he strapped his swords to his belt and quickly ran out – Seloria had recovered from her shock fast enough to join him at the door, and he welcomed her help. He saw how Cain had practically single-handedly killed the Thyride family that day via Kairi’s memory, after all. If he was that strong then, how was Kairi going to be able to handle him on her own now, when she was just starting to build her strength back up?

‘You troublesome woman, you had better still be standing when we get there,’ he thought to himself with a growl, unconsciously moving faster in the direction Karyme had told him earlier.

~*~

Green eyes regarded the two within the barrier with a sigh. He had rushed to Destila from Lyma when his informant told him he was going to attack, but it would seem he was still a little late. Glancing almost sadly at the barrier that was set up by him... he sighed; he should really be getting about to breaking it. A Draining Barrier had only ill effects to those not its caster. He shook his head, semi-long silver locks flowing with the movement. He stepped forward and slowly raised his hand to touch the barrier.

Upon contact, the barrier’s own coat of magic lashed out at him with the force of a raging ocean, but he did not care. At least, if his unwavering gaze was any indication, nor did he move from his position. His normally calm expression morphed into a frown – he had the barrier up for quite a while; the girl lasting as long as she had thus far with a Draining Barrier continuing to weaken her was impressive. Perhaps it had something to do with those flickering seals on her right arm… but she did not appear to notice them.

The silver haired man shook his head, refocusing his attention to the barrier before him. The girl was not likely to last much longer.

~*~

Kairi barely rolled away from yet another Ice-based spell that was sent her way. Sweat encased her very being and forced the relatively form-fitting top she wore to cling to her like second skin. She staggered to her feet, one hand quickly pushing her bangs away from her eyes.

‘Something about this barrier’s not right,’ she thought to herself with a quiet growl, breathing heavily. ‘Even during my spars against Master Aitelorn I don’t usually feel half as tired as I do now.’

Before her, Cain smirked. “I see you realized this barrier is no ordinary barrier,” he drawled rather cockily. Kairi’s eyes narrowed at him, suddenly realizing what the barrier was. Yula had taught her about certain barriers types and their effects.

“This barrier… a Draining Barrier,” she growled lowly, pretending not to notice that her legs had started shaking in an effort to keep herself upright. She was definitely a goner if help did not arrive soon. Black was starting to creep into her vision, and Kairi had fallen onto one knee when her legs decided to give out on her.

“Why yes,” Cain responded. “Most people barely manage standing the moment I pull this barrier up, but you…” his yellow eyes regarded her with concealed interest, “you were capable of moving and attacking me for more than twenty minutes.”

The youngest Thyride considered flashing the man before her a rude hand sign at that, but decided against it – no use wasting her remaining energy on something so pointless. Her vision swimming, she did not realize when Cain stood before her and could not react at all when his hand closed around her neck, choking her and lifting her from the ground.

Despite her body’s severe fatigue, Kairi refused to give in, struggling desperately against the vice grip on her neck – however futile her efforts were. Black was starting to consume her vision when the barrier broke (sounding very much like glass breaking slowly) and she was tossed aside like a rag doll – the blade that whizzed where Cain earlier stood to choke her following soon after.

“Kairi!” Eyes squeezed shut while coughing and gasping for air, she felt someone lift her into… his? her?... arms. She cracked one eye slightly open, body heaving with the need for precious air.

“La…late…” she whispered before allowing herself to obey her body’s demand for rest, falling limp in the person’s arms

~*~

Karyme had surprised him, Stein conceded. Despite appearing quite sickly, the slightly older female was fast – as proven when she had ran up beside him out of practically nowhere, and was ridiculously strong too. She threw her weapon, a freaking claymore, in Cain’s direction in a bid to save Kairi. Seloria had immediately gone to her sister’s side with Karyme in tow while he had positioned himself before the two females.

Stein was ready to draw his swords, but Cain’s narrowed eyes in a direction other from his and the girls’ made him glance over. His different coloured eyes widened just the slightest bit at the sight of the man who openly opposed Cain – there was no mistaking the man’s twin, after all.

“Lord Vermios,” he uttered, dumbfounded as his family came up behind him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Rityu nod to the aforementioned lord slightly – an action that confused him, though he paid it little heed.

Said lord smiled, though there was no perceivable emotion behind it. “Hello, brother. Here to destroy lives again, are we?” he asked almost casually, as if talking about the weather. Cain narrowed his eyes at him.

“Hello, Abel,” he hissed, spitting the name out as if it were poison. “How nice of you to break my barrier," Cain said rather sarcastically before continuing. “If I did not need you alive, I would kill you right now. You,” he paused, his yellow eyes snaking towards Kairi again (Stein and Karyme fell into defensive positions immediately, while Seloria tightened her grip on her sister), “and that girl.”

Stein watched as a tense moment passed before Cain started chuckling. “No matter,” he said, stance relaxed. “I have other, more important plans right now.” The man barked out a laugh before he disappeared, presumably via teleportation.

The remaining silver-haired man swept his glance over the area before settling on Kairi’s still form. “Let’s get her to your infirmary and let her heal, Lord Aitelorn.” His green eyes – very much alike his mother’s, Stein realized with a start – gazed over at his father, who nodded curtly.

“Of course, Lord Vermios. We have matters to discuss.”