Report

The peace and quiet pavilion within the castle's garden were oddly comforting. There was no one else but the two of them sitting at the ever picturesque table with tea upon the table. After night and day of restless work, Gabriel found himself here again, with the prince as his company. He liked to think of these meetings as the result of an accumulation of his efforts, and proof of milestones achieved. Of course, he didn't mind the young prince's company too much, as long as he didn't stay long enough for his naivety and cluelessness to become aggravating.

Prince Kaighle's mouth was pulled into a small frown as he nodded and listened to Gabriel's report. Yet to submit any official paperwork on the incident yet, Kaighle would be the first to hear in detail about what happened in Infinite Shield's warehouse that night. Of course, there would also be information that Gabriel purposely left out, like the name of the company that invested in Infinite Shields and the bird motif displayed on their attacker's clothes.

"While I have yet to make any solid conclusions about this case, I assure you, a lot of progress has been made. I have my personal suspicions about the origins of our assailants but I need them verified first before I dare make assumptions."

Kaighle's frown dropped even farther, "Would you not share with me your ideas?"

"Pardon my rudeness, your Highness. I did not mean to worry you or hide things from you however, as I am still uncertain and without solid proof, I do not wish to report some foolish fantasy of mine."

"I…I see. I understand." The prince brushed a loose strand of hair behind his ear. He was being rather fidgety despite it only being the two of them. The aggravation was slowly settling in, Gabriel needed to end their conversation before his patience fully ran out. "So you're saying there were, uh, thousands of illegal ARCs stored in that warehouse at the time..."

"You are right." He answered tersely.

"Is there really...that high of a demand for illegal ARCs...?"

"Unfortunately so."

A pause. Gabriel waited for Kaighle to speak, making the prince even more anxious, "How could this have even happened?" Prince Kaighle was gentle with his words, concern heavy on his countenance as though he wasn't sure it was alright for him to ask.

"There will always be those who are willing to go lengths for money and power." He explained simply, despite remembering Syllo's disjointed ramble about his mother who needed to use magic to provide for her children. The young prince didn't need to know about the harsh realities of the world.

"That's just terrible."

"Yes. The Knights will continue their efforts in uprooting illegal ARC activity in Edenea. I fear that these illegal ARCs have been getting out of hand and we need to be more stern and decisive about our solutions in dealing with this problem."

"I suppose you are right." He sighed, probably for the twentieth time the day.

Gabriel could no longer help but ask, "Excuse my rudeness. Are you alright, your Highness?"

"Huh? What?" Wide eyes snapped up, "Oh no, please do not worry about me! I'm perfectly well." The smile he tried was strained, "I guess I'm just a little upset that I haven't really been able to help. I feel awfully useless holed up in the castle."

Gabriel was extra careful in keeping his expression still and make his lies sound more genuine but he reminded himself that this prince was easy to fool, "Do not think that, Your Highness. That's not true at all. You've helped me plenty and you should not underestimate the power of your authority."

Kaighle looked down at his fingers that played with the hem of his sleeves, "Truly so? I just…don't feel like I can really live up to Aryon's abilities. He's good a everything that I'm not. Compared to him, frankly, I fear I'm not much use to the Empire…"

A moment of silence passed. Gabriel had to choose his words carefully, that was always the downside when dealing with Prince Kaighle's sensitive demeanor. "That's nonsense, your Highness." He tried to keep his voice soft, "You have important qualities that Prince Aryon lack. For that reason, you may always count on my loyalty."

Pink raised in Prince Kaighle's cheeks, like a small child glowing from praise, "Do you truly say so?" He was leaning in, like an honest, excited pup. Gabriel almost felt a little guilty. "What could I possibly have that Aryon lacks?"

For a moment, Gabriel wondered what he would have said if he were a more honest man, but he digressed, honesty, after all, would not produce results. "You will understand one day." He said cryptically before moving on, "Actually, your Highness, there is a matter in which a desire your help."

While his lack of a suitable response no doubt disappointed the young prince, Kaighle instantly perked up at the mention of being able to help out, "Certainly! Anything within my power."

Good, Gabriel thought. With the prince's aid, he could bypass all those complaining nobles and gain permission to farther his own investigation.

The night before Gabriel's unofficial meeting with Prince Kaighle, Anita was staring listlessly her ceiling. It was a relief after being let off earlier than the rest of the cleanup crew and knowing that she had a day off following that disturbing night in that odd hidden warehouse, but Anita found that she was restless. Something wasn't sitting right with her, and it didn't necessarily have to do with staring at the gory mess of a woman's throat torn to pieces.

Anita rolled in her bed, the silken sheets and goose down mattress did little to ease her anxiety. She groaned in frustration and tossed the covers aside. If her sleep was to be damned then so be it! It wasn't like she had to wake up early the next day anyways.

The smooth wooden floor was cold beneath her feet but Anita didn't have the mind to search the darkness for her slippers. A sudden pang of hunger hit her and she was struck with the genius idea of making a trip to the kitchen for some food. How could a girl say no to some midnight munchies?

The kitchen was unfortunate quite far from her room, down the stairs and at the very end of the west corridor but that was fine! As all other things were when involving her stomach. It was hardly the first or last time Anita made this trip, she just had to be careful not to wake up the evil maid or run into her father during his late-night working (or drinking) session.

It took only about two minutes for her to regret slipping into her slippers but it was too late now, mistakes were made but she had to endure!

The was light down the steps! Oh Solas, did that mean she had to wait or find some other way to the kitchens? Honestly, she was a grown woman by now and that probably meant she could do whatever she wanted right? In fact, she was a knight! Taking a breath, she went downstairs, curiosity getting the better of her apprehension.

She didn't expect to see her older brother dressed with a suitcase in hand, whispering something to the old maid before she hugged him and wandered off. Anita called for him before he could reach for the front door, "Jacob!"

"Anita! What are you doing awake?"

"I could say the same to you! More importantly, where do you think you're going? I swear you just got home and now you're leaving before we can even spend catch up and talk?" She huffed at him with a pout.

Jacob smiled and laughed, patting her head as though she was still a child, "I'm sorry Anita, forgive this big brother of yours? Some urgent business has popped up and I fear I must attend to work."

Though he was older, Jacob did not have high enough resonance core quality to become the family heir. That didn't make him any less impressive in Anita's eyes. Jacob was a talented and successful businessman in every respect and the best big brother than Anita could ever ask for.

Or, sort of, if he hadn't been so work-obsessed for the past few years, "I feel like I haven't seen you in months! And you're just going to run off after coming back? Mother's going to be so upset."

Jacob smiled with downturn brows, "Forgive me, Anita. Mother will understand and so should you… Business can be awfully unpredictable when dealing with traders and guilds."

"So it's true, you're working with guilds." An odd feeling struck Anita.

Jacob looked at his sister with confusion in his eyes, "Of course, it comes with the territory of my work."

Right.

Of course. Anita nodded in understanding.

"Pardon me, Lord Jacob, Lady Anita." A blast of chilled night air hit Anita through the thin fabric of her nightgown. The driver held open the front door. Jacob twisted his head around to look at the old maid, attempting to quell her stink eye with a disarming smile. But all Anita could see was a red gem embedded in his ear, the golden jewelry beautifully carved into the shape of a flying bird. She blinked and Jacob was facing her with a worried look upon his face, the right side of his face along with the jewel was obscured by shadow.

"I must go. I'll make it up to you next time! Get some rest, little sister!" Jacob waved before rushing out after the driver, leaving a frustrated Anita behind.

She was left, dumbfounded. The nauseating anxiety was soon replaced with annoyance when she came into the realization that the bastard had just left her.

He didn't need to run away like that! The entire encounter made her forget why she even came downstairs in the first place. Cold and tired, Anita made it back to bed and was able to drift away into her dreams without too much hassle.

While she dreamt of fire and swooping wings the next day, Anita felt rather refreshed.