"A BALL?!" Charles' outburst makes the prince cringe, "Levianth are you kidding? If so, then it's not a good joke"
"As much as I'd like for it to be a joke, it's the truth" Levianth sighs and explains, "he believes it'll be a great opportunity to show that her return presents some stability in the kingdom despite the crisis we're going through. Like a ray of hope and beauty in the midst of darkness and despair, that's how father described it".
Charles rolls his eyes, "she's going to run away again".
"I wouldn't blame her. I tried to reason with him but you know how he gets when he sets his mind on something," Levianth says in annoyance, "out of all things, he chose to throw a ball! I cannot believe how laid back that man can get!" Frustration builds up in both men, their king is only thinking about partying when their homeland has been slipping through their fingers.
"How about we try seeing things from his perspective?" Charles suggests "the Teral estate is the second most powerful estate in our kingdom. Strong mages are born in Teral as well as intelligent commanders. They have gardens and fields that stretch as far as the eyes can see"
Charles is cut off by Levianth, "stop. You know as well as I do that my father couldn't care less about anyone or anything but himself and his fortune. Stop lying to yourself!" he pauses before standing up and turning to face Charles, "I need your help with something. There is no way I'm putting her in the spotlight like father wants to. I won't allow him to use her as a tool that represents stability and beauty and light. She is much more than that," Levianth says in determination.
"What do you suggest we do?" Charles smirks, honestly he misses this side of his friend, the mischievous side.
With a smirk Levianth replies, "I know where Rose Vermillion is. Take night walker to her as soon as the sun sets today. I'll be joining you soon after"
"Pardon the interruption my friend. But before you go any further, I have to tell you that night walker has finally agreed to give us answers".
"It changes nothing. When I join you at Rose's, we can listen to what she has to say. Our number one priority is to get her as far away from my father as possible. He has ulterior motives for throwing her a ball than he's letting on. He may seem laid back about it but he's crafting something and keeping us in the dark"
"I have never seen such determination coming from you," Charles smiles at his friend who returns the smile.
After exchanging their goodbyes, they head in opposite directions.
Meanwhile, night walker had sneaked out of the apartment and is now walking around the market. "They call themselves assassins! Hah! They were so easy to slip past! Man I wish I could see their faces when they realize I'm not in town anymore!" night walker laughs as she struts around Sapphire port. "Yesterday that four eyes chocked me with how close he got while we were shopping. I need to buy him a dictionary so he can search for the words personal space" she mumbles to herself.
"Did you hear? Enemy armies have been spotted last week!" a merchant says.
"What?! Don't tell me they're here to revive the northern war from seven years?" a customer panics.
"It's impossible for the kingdom to go to war in its current state" another person says.
"It won't be a war. It will be another massacre," someone exclaims coldly.
Night walker can easily sense the tension growing in the air as the minutes go by. The reason she snuck out was to conduct an investigation of her own. Many times she has heard Charles and Levianth talk about how the kingdom is in a state of crisis but they wouldn't elaborate in the matter. Therefore, she has decided to find out herself what's going on.
"Don't go around saying such things. You'll cause a panic"
"A panic you say? We, commoners, are seen as working mindless machines by the higher ups. But we aren't. Take a good look around man. Everyone is tense. Sapphire port isn't the same as it was ten years ago"
Night walker acts as if she's looking at some fruits in a stand. What the man said has spiked her interest.
"What are you implying Sho?" another man buts in the conversation.
"Don't act so stupid. You know what I'm talkin about. Ever since that girl from Teral escaped everything started to go downhill" the man called Sho explains.
"You can't be serious. How can one person affect the entire kingdom?" some other guy asks mockingly.
Sho sighs and takes a wooden stick, "Look here you morons". He starts drawing a spider web in the thick dust. Night walker steps closer to the group of men making sure that her cloak is covering her face. She listens intently to what Sho is saying.
"Imagine that Mystal is like this web. Everything is interconnected. All strings are attached to one another making this web unwavering. The escape of that girl from Mystal is a broken string," he erases a string. "After her escape, her mother went missing along with important people from Teral," he erases multiple strings which shows a part from the web is disconnected from the rest. "Following this, war broke out and all our white crystals were annihilated," he repeats his actions, but this time a part of the web is destroyed. "Many soldiers died and our healers were rendered useless. Trading with others kingdoms became unbalanced. The prices of what's coming in increased. Teral's production of perfumes and soaps has stopped, three-quarter of our ships has been destroyed in the storm following the war. Allies of Mystal started backing down from treaties and three of them have turned into potential enemies. The king hasn't shown his face in public for five years now. His highness was seen with shady people not too long ago. People who had ambitions of joining elite forces have turned their backs on these dreams. The supreme mage is nowhere to be found, not like he or she'll be much help anyway. Her majesty is only interested in her tea parties and marrying her son off to some rich women. If the commander I once served under comes back, she'll whip the royal family's butts for neglecting their people and the land they swore to protect. Guess oaths and promises are meaningless nowadays" Sho finishes off; the web in front of him appears to be broken. Even the middle is cut in pieces. "This my friends," he gestures at his drawing, "is Mystal".
The group that consisted of only five men and Night walker has become a crowd of twenty and more. The man's words added fuel to the spark of panic, making it a blazing flame that spread like wildfire amongst the people at the market.
"We are goners"
"Mommy what is this man saying? Is daddy going to leave to fight the bad guys again?"
"He makes a good point"
"We have no hope left"
"He's right. It all began ten years ago"
"I better travel to another kingdom and live there"
More comments rise. Night walker is hearing every single one of them and thinks to herself, "Why hasn't anyone taken action? Don't they sense the unease and terror the people are in?"
"Hey Sho, who was the commander that you served under?" a random man asks.
"Ah, she was a fearless badass woman. Commander Vermillion," he exclaims proudly.
Night walker freezes, "You served under her?" she asks Sho once the crowd has dispersed.
Sho's gaze falls on her, he tries to make out her face features but fails. He nods in response to her question. "Who the hell are you?" a man sneers at her pointing a metal pipe at her covered face.
"Night walker. And if I were you, I'd put that metal pipe away. Unless you are in no need of your left arm" she says confidently.
The men surround her now that they know her identity, "what a pleasant surprise"
"Night walker is in Sapphire, that's a first"
"I cannot wait to see what she's made of"
"ENOUGH!" Sho yells ordering the men to leave her be.
"I didn't need your help," night walker says.
"I'm sure you didn't. But I don't want them to spend the rest of their lives with a missing body part," he exclaims making her smirk. "How about a drink?" he suggests.
"I don't drink," she declines and starts to walk away.
"I know you trained under her night walker, or should I say Lady"
Night walker is suddenly in front of him, holding a dagger at his throat, "Say my name and I'll slash your throat open" she threatens.
Sho grabs her wrist gently and lowers her hand. His face expression turns serious, "Let's chat first".
Night walker puts the dagger back in it sheath, "how do you know that I trained under her?"
"The pendant you're hiding in the left pocket of your leather jacket is emitting a faint power. You should learn to conceal it properly," Sho says before guiding a stunted night walker to a bar.
"How did he know what I'm wearing?" she asks herself mentally, "better be cautious around that man" she makes a mental note and takes a seat opposite from him. Since they sat on a table at the far end of the bar, her back was turned to everyone else.
"You can take off that cape. No one will see you," he suggests
"What makes you so sure?" she asks him
"It's dark in here despite it being noon. And every single person in here is too drunk to give two shits about you," he states making night walker snort at the last comment.
"Fine," she uncovers her head revealing her face.
The waiter brings Sho a bottle of liquor and two cups, night walker eyes the latter.
"Don't worry. Matt here is blind," he reassures
"I know that. I'm curious as why two cups,"
"Since you don't drink, I will drink on your behalf," Sho exclaims as he pours the liquor.
"You're an idiot," she mumbles before resting her hands on the table.
"Nice eyepatch," Sho compliments. Instinctively, night walker touches it. "I see you're still not over how you lost that eye of yours"