Chapter 12 - -Chapter Twelve: The Note He Sent-

Chapter Twelve – The Note He Sent

The ball finished faster then what Jack had originally wished for, but for an odd reason he didn't want it to end. He found humour in how the white-haired boy tried to get away from the group of hopeless bachelorettes as they chased him around the ballroom. Or how at the end of the end of the ball Ace passed out against an older woman, who was supposedly in charge of the higher ups in Findara. As much as Jack would like to go to his dad saying how much he really did not want to go to that ball, he found himself wanting to talk about everything he saw. It was like a whole different world within Findara. Jack wanted to talk about everything Ace did. How Ace has a group of rebellions. How Ace is amazing. Jack wanted to see him again, to spend some more time with him, and to learn more about him. He knew he should not say anything about Ace, at least not on the carriage ride back to the forest before going home.

"So, what were you doing there 𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢?" Zehra teased as Vulpecula wiped down a bloody dagger.

"I was making a five-course meal." Vulpecula said nonchalantly, not bothering to look up.

"You better not leave any evidence." Leo Percy shouted up from outside where he steered the horses.

"I was a professional cleaner in my past life, don't you worry about it!" Vulpecula shouted back.

"And where were you?" Zehra asked nudging, smirking at Jack who sat across from her.

"I had a chance to meet Ace." Jack smiled and Vulpecula took interest and smiled along with Zehra.

"Oh! What happened?!" Eris and Leo Percy exclaimed at the same time as they approached the forest, slowly making the horse come to a halt.

"I had so much rage seeing him at first, then the moment I looked into his eyes, I felt all the prejudice and hate towards Findara disappear for a moment. His eyes were so soft and wide, he looked like he's been hurting for a while now. He looks so tired. When I watched the group sneak off to the forest, I noticed how he felt relieved." Jack explained as they all stepped out of the carriage.

"Wait Ace watched them leave?" Zehra asked as Jack nodded his head.

"He wants to break free from the norms of killing people that don't fit 'their' views. There was someone he waved to, he looked happy that they were leaving." Jack explained, smiling.

"He has that look in his eyes." Eris said as the group gathered in front of Jack and stared at his eyes, making him very uncomfortable.

"Oh my! He does!" Zehra exclaimed as Jack's cheeks went red.

"I have no clue what you are talking about." Jack huffed as he walked over to the horses to pet them. He knew they were right; he did have that look in his eyes. Jack could not help it. His mind has not forgotten the sight of Ace in the moonlight. Every time he thinks about the Findarian, his heart skips a beat or two. It felt like he was about to have a heart attack, but in the most delightful way ever.

"You can tease him about it later. You all really need to start meeting everyone in the forest and talk about what Leo Percy found in the war room. Leave the horses be, I will attend to them so they're safe." Sellandia stated making the group jump at her sudden appearance, but quickly obeyed.

"Just a full-on warning before we get any deeper into the woods: ignore the screams." Jack warned making Zehra and Leo Percy huddle close to each other, afraid of what would come. Jack looked over his shoulder as he led the group through the forest every once in a while, to see their expression. It was much like his when he first entered through the layers of the forest. By the time they got to the screams, Jack let out a chuckle to see everyone wince at the horrid noise. Even Jack got shivers down his spine when he decided to listen to the screaming winds.

"If I had known beforehand that the forest was this deep I would have brought a pair of flats, but no. Now my new heels are ruined…" Zehra huffed angrily before noticing everyone had disappeared except for Leo Percy who stood next to her. "Um… Percy? Where is everyone?"

"I'm not too sure. I was paying attention to the screams. I thought I heard my brother for a moment." Leo Percy mumbled as his eyes focused onto the distance.

"But Percy, he died-" "Eight years ago. I know, but I just heard him over there. Martin? Martin!" Leo Percy exclaimed as he rushed off into the screams.

"NO! Percy he's not- Mom?!" Zehra questioned as a wind that sounded like her mother's scream rushed by her. Zehra quickly whipped around and ran in the opposite direction of Leo Percy. "Wait, come on Zehra. She died ages ago. We need to find Leo Percy." Zehra said to herself as she turned around to walk back to Leo Percy, only to find out she's lost. She took one deep breath in and tried to listen to Leo Percy's shouts for his deceased brother. Suddenly the screams vanished and right when Zehra was about to run off to Leo Percy, a hand grabbed her wrist. Frantically Zehra turned around to find her mom holding onto her.

"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦?" Her mother's voice screeched, making Zehra drop to the ground, covered her eyes, and screamed back at her mom. It wasn't long until someone embraced her with a warm hug that blocked out the harsh cold winds. Zehra screamed again trying to push back whoever held her close.

"It's okay, I got you now." Leo Percy said as he held her tightly. Zehra uncovered her eyes slowly to see no one around her but Leo Percy who held her.

"I- I was going to go get you and-" "I know. He got me before I ran off a ditch and landed onto spikes." Leo Percy said as he let Zehra go to reveal a barefooted guy with a lantern.

"Hi, I'm Drayde. Let's get you out of here before anything else happens." Drayde smiled as he offered a helping hand to Zehra. "I'm terribly sorry about the illusions and screams."

"No need to apologize. Jack did give us a full warning about the screams." Zehra said as she wiped her tears away and gladly took his hand.

"Here let me clean you two off really quick." Drayde said as he waved his hand over the two Asterians. Leo Percy and Zehra watched in awe as the mud was pulled away from their clothes, face, and armor and placed carefully onto the ground.

Meanwhile inside the forest where the mystical creatures roamed freely, Lilith and Gwen were happily talking to one another. Lilith had finally introduced her lover to Gwen and Gwen was able to talk about how she discovered her magical abilities. "You idiot!" A loud voice yelled over Gwen's and Lilith's conversation. Lilith looked over to Zehra who just hit the back of Jack's head.

"I thought you were paying attention! You usually are!" Jack said to his defense.

"I was! To the screams!" Zehra yelled as Leo Percy tried to hold her back.

"That was the one thing I said not to pay attention to!" Jack exclaimed, this caught the attention of the baby witches and wizards who drew their attention from the runaway Findarians to the yelling Asterians.

"Hey now. Cut it out you two! We have business to attend to. You can fight once you are in the castle." Vulpecula called out as she stood between the two. Zehra looked down to the floor, ashamed of her immaturity and Jack nodded his head as he apologized to the people around him. Vulpecula guided the group over to the common area where Sellandia waited patiently with the Findarians to talk over what would be happening with the group. Eris was found playing with the young children of the forest, which warmed the heart of Sellandia and Drayde. They knew it would be only a matter of time before something bad would happen, but hopefully it would take some time for something to happen.

Jack talked to the group of runaways explaining that they will reside in Asterin. He also gave them the choice to live in Asterin's allying kingdoms, who will welcome them with warm and welcoming arms. The group looked so relieved to Jack knowing that they wouldn't have to live in hiding or in fear. Gwen even accepted the invite from Sellandia and Drayde to stay in the forest and work on her newly founded magic. After an hour or so of talking and answering questions Jack finally decided to call it in for the night. The larger group was divided into smaller groups of where they wanted to go. Some went to Caspian, others went to Petrina, and a few decided to go to Asterin. Sellandia and Drayde reassured Jack that it wasn't necessary to go over what the group had found with them at the moment, considering it was so late into the night. Jack invited them to dinner the next day, but the two declined.

"It's okay sweetheart. You have our complete trust! Plus, Lilith will be going in our place. We have the forest and everyone within to take care of and train. We will accept it some other time." Sellandia said as Drayde nodded in agreeance.

"You both are too kind. Please come over whenever you want to! We will always welcome you!" Jack said as he bid them a goodnight and joined with the group to head back home. The journey home was as peaceful as always. The group admired the mysterious, colourful lights that could not be seen in Findara.

"Will that hurt us?" A Findarian asked, making Eris giggle softly at the curiosity.

"No, they're called Auroras. It has something to do with science and the magnetic poles of the earth's hemispheres" Eris answered as everyone stared at the sky in awe.

"Science? You have science?" Another Findarian asked excitedly.

"Yeah, we have a whole library filled with books of scientists from the past and their works." Zehra answered.

"Is the library open to the public or kept for the Paradise folks?" The previous Findarian asked.

"Of course, it is! Everyone can go in as they please!" Leo Percy answered as the Findarians started chatting amongst themselves of what would happen if they did that in Findara. Eventually Leo Percy joined in, then Zehra, and then Eris. Vulpecula walked closely with Jack, leading the group. Lilith had agreed to stay with Gwen in the forest to help her accommodate to her new home and will be seeing everyone for dinner due to some of her 'duties' with King Oliver.

"Are you going to tell me how your interaction with Prince Ace went?" Vulpecula teased as Jack shook his head. "Awe come on. Tell me you didn't do anything dumb."

"I didn't. He threw cake at me and we kind of just clicked, but then he got mad at me." Jack chuckled.

"Let me guess... He wasn't too enthusiastic about how you sent Leo Percy to venture out and around that castle while Eris and Zehra pranced around the ballroom?" Vulpecula asked.

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" Jack exclaimed mocking the festival merchants. "It was nice. I would like to see him again though. Talk to him more, try to help him more. He truly cares about the people who are suffering in his kingdom, but he's also trying to expand to other kingdoms and help them out as well."

"Wow, you saw all of that in him within the hour or so you two were alone?" Vulpecula asked again as Jack nodded his head.

"I know I can't just stroll up whenever I please, but I need- I would like to talk to him again." Jack corrected himself, hoping Vulpecula's sly ears would not pick up on his intentions.

"Well, if you need to talk to him so badly why don't you send him a little message through the fairies?" She smirked as Jack pushed her to the side almost causing her to fall over due to the dress she was wearing.

"Dammit, I thought you wouldn't hear that. The fairies would cause too much noise and mess, I don't want him to get into trouble." Jack signed as Vulpecula pushed him.

"You dummy. Send it to him during the night. They usually have less guards on patrol and it won't cause a lot of attention. Besides, the fairies are not dumb, they just like messing around a lot." Vulpecula suggested making Jack ponder about it.

The night was now nearing half past one in the morning when Jack and, a fully recovered, King Harry finally settled everyone into their new homes. To say Jack felt amazing when he saw the Findarians cheered or cry as they entered their newly founded freedom was an understatement. Zehra and Leo Percy decided to talk to the runaways for a little longer. Vulpecula had gone back to her place, wherever that maybe. Eris went to meet up with the other guards to tell them how the Findarian guards work and function together. Jack and King Harry stayed up as long as they could before deciding to turn in for the night.

Jack was too deep into his thoughts to go to bed; he knew going to bed now would just result in endless tossing and turning. Tiredly, he changed out of his ballroom outfit and into his night clothes that consisted of a loose shirt and loose, cotton shorts. The tall Asterin walked over to the couch against the window that overlooked the kingdom, the forest, and a small bit of Findara. Findara was barely noticeable from his window, but Jack knew that that was the kingdom. He wondered if Ace could see Asterin from his window. He wondered if Ace even knew where Asterin was. He also wondered that after all this time of doing nothing and resenting, he could have been doing this. He could have been helping out more and saving more lives. Jack quickly shook the thought of what could have been and quickly started to think about what could be. The past is the past, it is time to move forward. Interrupting him from his thoughts, there was a light knock on his door followed by his dad entering his room.

"See? Aren't you glad I sent you?" King Harry asked as Jack looked over to his dad with epiphany.

"I thought you said your healing would take a while." Jack pointed out before going back to staring at the dark kingdom in the distance.

"They're skilled witches, my boy. I'm surprised you fell for that trick of them taking weeks to heal me." King Harry chuckled as he joined Jack on the couch.

"I can't believe I actually fell for that after all this time they have healed everyone and helped out. I'm now wondering if the story you told about you getting crushed by a rock is true." Jack said, shaking his head.

"Now me getting smothered by a boulder is actually true." Harry said as Jack snapped his head towards his dad. "I'm okay! You don't have to worry."

"You're not young anymore, you need to be careful." Jack warned as his dad laughed and ruffled up Jack's hair. "But yes, I am glad I went. Ace is an interesting guy and the Defiance is amazing."

"They finally gave themselves a name, good for them. We will talk more tomorrow, I just wanted to check up on you to see if you are okay." Harry stated as he stood up.

"Thank you, dad. I promise I'm okay and I love you. Also I'm so lucky to have a dad like you." Jack said as he stood up and hugged Harry.

"I love you too, son and I'm so proud of you." Harry said as he hugged Jack back. Jack never really realized how lucky he was to have a father like Harry. Even after the passing of his wife, Harry put in twice the work to give Jack endless love and support. Once Harry had left the room, Jack instantly jumped onto his feet, walked over to his desk, looked over to a small group of fairies that flew above his bed, and begun writing a note:

𝑺𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆! 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔! 𝑰 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑺𝒐, 𝒍𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓! 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆!

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚,

𝑱𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈

Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle, Leo Percy laid on his bed anxiously waiting for his guard duty to start (even knowing it would not be until ten in the morning when he would start). He could not get the plans of what Findara is planning to do really soon, but most of all he could not get the interaction with Xavier out of his head. "Percy, open up!" A soft whisper demanded as a knock on the door followed. Reluctantly, Leo Percy got up and walked over to his door to reveal a shivering Zehra. "Why can't you just live in the castle like everyone else?" She asked as she walked in and took a seat close to the fireplace. Leo Percy followed close behind her and started to prepare some tea to help warm her up.

"I like my little cottage, plus I stay in the castle during the colder months." Leo Percy explained for what felt like the millionth time. "Why are you even awake still?"

"I couldn't sleep." Zehra answered, hugging her legs.

"You were thinking about your mom." Leo Percy stated as he gave her a cup of her favourite: lemon tea with one sugar cube.

"I- Yes. Percy it was too realistic. She was blaming me for her death and I couldn't snap out of it. How did you snap out of it from Martin?" Zehra asked as Leo Percy sat next to her, reminiscing about his brother.

"𝘓𝘦𝘰, 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱!" 𝘈 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 (𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘓𝘦𝘰).

"𝘏𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘱! 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦!" 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘴, 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘈 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯'𝘴 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘺, 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘰'𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶!" 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘰'𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴!" 𝘓𝘦𝘰'𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.

"𝘏𝘮𝘮𝘮! 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥!" 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦.

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳!" 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵. "𝘓𝘌𝘌!" 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥, 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.

"𝘖𝘗𝘈𝘓!" 𝘓𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. "𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯! 𝘓𝘦𝘰! 𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥?"

"𝘠𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳! 𝘔𝘰𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧!" 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘥.

"𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦!" 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘨.

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴! 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵!" 𝘓𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘨. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘦𝘰'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢. 𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥'𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥.

"𝘔𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩-" 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺. "𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬!" 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.

"𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘓𝘦𝘰. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯." 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴' 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.

"𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦! 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳!" 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧, 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.

"𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩!" 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱.

𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮, "𝘖𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘸𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦…" 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳, "… 𝘴𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘺-𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘴𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘺-𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘰, 𝘴𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘺-𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦." 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦. 𝘚𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘵. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦: 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘦𝘰.

𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘈𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. "𝘎𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨!" 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵.

"𝘳-𝘳𝘰𝘵… 𝘪𝘯… 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭." 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

"𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦." 𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 '𝘛𝘙𝘈𝘐𝘛𝘖𝘙' 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵, 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴. "𝘏𝘦𝘺! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥!" 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭'𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘰'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥.

𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. "𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!" 𝘈 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘴𝘦.

"𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦!" 𝘈 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩. 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. "𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦?" 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘦𝘦'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥.

"𝘔𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵." 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭. 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. "𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮." 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬'𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘜𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘹𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴.

"𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯! 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨." 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺.

"The vow I made to my family all those years ago. I vowed to protect everyone I love and to never run from a fight. It was my realization of the vow that turned the forest normal again." Leo Percy answered as he smiled looking down at the cup of tea and then over to Zehra.

"Awe Percy, I didn't think it would bring up that memory from all those years ago." Zehra empathized as Leo Percy shook his head assuring her everything would be fine.

"Don't worry about that! But I have some boy tea to talk to you about!" Leo Percy exclaimed. Zehra resisted at first on the sudden topic of change, knowing what he had gone through was nothing compared to what had happened to her, but she smiled and allowed him to proceed with him talking about Xavier.