Noah was having those flashes again.
This time, he was breaking the limbs of a beautiful white horse. His mind kindly provided a vivid soundtrack, making him sit up and immediately retch.
"Ay," Alexis muttered, stepping out of the splash zone.
"Get it out," Markus patted him on the back.
"Wh-What happened?" Noah asked weakly, wiping his mouth, leaving streaks of blood from where it seeped through his bandage.
"Um," She looked at Markus for support. She got none. "We don't know...exactly. But how do you feel?"
He considered it. He was tired, hungry, scared and there was a vague sadness hollowing his chest.
"I'm fine."
"Good, yeah," she smiled. "Markus, can I talk to you for a minute?"
As soon as they were out of earshot, Alexis slapped him on the arm. "What the shit, Markus?"
"I don't know! But we have to keep calm so Noah doesn't freak out."
They glanced back to where the boy was spacing out at the freshly filled grave Markus had dug for the unicorn, an impressive feat, really.
"Okay. We already have the journal. We can figure it out from there." She exhaled before hitting him again. "But what the shit?"
"Ow," he rubbed his arm, still sore from the fight. "Let's just keep the situation under control for now. Take Noah back to your place. I have to tell the guards not to run their mouth." He muttered as he took the journal from her and jogged towards the nearest physician's house.
'How the hell does he function?' Alexis wondered as she walked over to Noah.
"Hey, let's go back, okay?" She helped him to his feet.
Smile for his sake.
Her normal snarky grin was replaced by a soft smile, broken at the corners.
Smile for her sake.
His bright smile erupted, the one that could make flowers grow, the one that wasn't real, same as always.
*********************************
Meanwhile, Markus found Warrick waiting outside a cottage, tugging at his hair as he paced nervously.
"Warrick," He walked over to him, "Is Frey awake?"
"Y-Yeah I think so. She's hurt pretty bad but yeah.."
"Can I see her? And Aris too?"
He nodded quickly, leading him into the gas-lit room that smelled of herbs.
Frey was sitting upright on the cot, bandages around her arms, head and likely her legs as well. Beside her, Aris sat, gesturing wildly as he talked.
He looked up when he saw Markus. "Sir, what the hell was that thing?"
"The horse? Yeah, that was insane." He lied through her teeth, quite good at it.
"That was a horse? You sure?"
"Yeah, remember, like the ones the king brought in from outside the capital. Must have gotten loose."
He nodded at the young guards. "Listen, it's probably best if you keep the incident to yourselves. The public doesn't have to worry about this during festival week, alright?"
They agreed solemnly, clearly intimated by Markus.
"Okay, clear out. I need to speak with Frey." He looked pointedly at her, making her wince.
Once the others left, he continued. "Good job on keeping it at bay. You saved lives on that one."
She snorted, not satisfied. "Yeah, but I still had to be dragged out of there on my ass."
"Hey, it's okay to accept help sometimes-"
"Yeah, not for me, okay? It's just different for us." She turned away, not wanting to overstep.
"When they don't take you seriously and you have to work twice as hard for half the respect?" He raised his eyebrows as Frey met his gaze. He was quoting Alexis verbatim after a particular rant session.
"I have a friend who's eager to prove herself too. But I don't think any less of her when she asks for help. And for what it's worth, you don't have to try to be one of the guys. You're far ahead."
"Especially Aris." She rolled her eyes, suddenly conscious of herself.
Markus almost smirked as he turned to leave. He paused at the door. "You're tough, Frey. I've got my eye on you."
He didn't notice the blush fanning across her face. Then again, he never did notice those kinds of things.
*********************************
Noah had wrapped himself in a blanket, laying on the sofa like a worm as he watched Alexis make all the food in the house disappear.
She whirled around when she heard Markus enter.
"Well?" She prompted.
"They're gonna keep it quiet." He sat down at the dining table, glancing at Noah, who was pretending to be asleep.
"I... think I know how to help Noah."
"What?" She took a seat across from him. "How?"
"You're probably not going to like it, but-" he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Remember when we met?"
Images of him dragging her for interrogation after a botched mission ran through her mind. It was around six months ago, the memories still vivid.
"Yeah, kinda."
"The reason I was the one who caught you was because the senior guards were busy with something. Later, I find out that they were all out trying to subdue someone."
"Wait, all of them? For one guy?"
He nodded, getting to his point. "An Arts user. Dangerous too. They finally caught him and I'm willing to bet he's still in the dungeons."
"Hold on," she stood, wanting to convey how crazy his idea was. "You want to introduce Noah to some psychopath?"
On the sofa, Noah squirmed, wondering what his life had come to.
"Do you have a better idea? The only other person who'd know what's happening is in the city morgue."
Alexis considered it, folding her arms. "Well, if his existence is so secret, how are we supposed to see him?"
Markus stood slowly, leaning forward to match her gaze. "I was under the impression you had royal connections."
She raised her eyebrows.
"Oh damn."