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Calef awoke and immediately knew the wolf had gone. How had it gotten out? The door was shut. Was it all only a dream? Likely, but he couldn't be for certain. Calef stood up and put on the clothes from last night. He picked up an ambrose scent that wasn't there before.

Wolf, definitely wolf.

So, it wasn't a dream. A wolf was definitely here, and he let it in. Now the question remained: who or what let it out? The door was unlatched, but it was closed. There was no way the wolf would have been able to close it after leaving. Someone had to have been here.

Knock, knock, knock came the sound from the other side of the door. Calef opened it to find Greyson standin there.

"Oh gods, I worried so much about you last night!" Calef embraced his new visitor quite tightly, which caught Greyson off his guard.

"Uuuhhhhh, thanks?"

"Did your mother yell at you when you got back?"

"Truthfully... I never made it back."

"What?"

"I got caught up in the storm and lost my horse. I tried going the rest of the way on foot, but I passed out. Woke up the next morning in a shelter somewhere near here, so I made my way back here to see if you were okay."

"So, someone saved you."

"Yes, but... I never saw them. Guess we'll never know who they are."

Walking through town was a whole new experience for Greyson. All the colours seemed much more vibrant than usual and the smells were way more intense. This gave everything a whole new life to them and Greyson couldn't stop staring around, wanting to go off on a new tangent.

"Greyson, you have to get home! Your mother will be furious! Come on!" Calef pressed.

"I know but everything seems so fresh here! We at least gotta go and see the-"

"GREYSON LYKAIOS AURELIAN FALLHEART!!! YOU NEED TO GET BACK HOME NOW!!!" Calef roared.

Immediately, everything froze in time. The world went deathly silent, and Calef knew his calamitous mistake. The crowd exchanged a few faint whispers.

"... Duke's son.... Is it really him?

"...impossible, he's so much like us..."

"... can't be Eurubus' kid, right?..."

Suddenly, Calef feared for his life.

"Grey... I..."

"You told them.... You told everyone..." Greyson didn't move, nor did he look back to fully address Calef. The dark-haired boy, usually being thoughtful, was now unhinged. Wounded by a grievous betrayal.

"I'm sorry... I..."

"I trusted you with one thing, and you spilled it to the entirety of Avalon. After I... trusted... you. Do you really think an "I'm sorry" is really going to fix that? I knew it was too early to tell you. I knew I shouldn't have trusted you, but I turned a blind eye for... gods only know why."

Calef couldn't take it, he held his stomach and dropped to his knees, being in quite the substantial amount of physical pain. Tears steamed down his face, and not because his body was trying to kill him, but because his soul was being tortured and eviscerated from the core out. "Greyson... I didn't mean to... Honest..."

Only now did the young heir look at his former friend. "How do I know that? How can I know that? You've deceived me three or four times now on two days. How can I know for sure that I can trust you?"

Calef only clutched to his stomach firmer. He had no way of answering. He'd been effectively defeated.

"You were right about one thing. I do need to get home, but not because I have to deal with my mother. Good-bye Calef. I'm sure we'll see each other again."

Greyson turned away and began his walk back to the Fallheart family estate. Calef could only watch as he felt his heart being figuratively ripped from his chest, wishing it were quite literal.

Greyson felt weak. His body agonized over a danger that wasn't there. Phantom pains malignantly abused Greyson as he neared the Fallheart property. His heart begged him to return to town, but his mind objected. His soul filled with the song of the mournfully broken, and he felt himself ebbing away into the abyss. The tall gateway that signaled the border of the acreage owned by the Fallhearts loomed over Greyson, but what should have been the gateway to safety from harm felt more like the entrance to the Land of the Damned and Forgotten. Greyson shouldn't be here, he just knew it.

No one has seen him, perhaps now he could turn around and put to rest all the feelings of ill-tidings and dejection.

"Greyson! You made it!"

The young heir looked up to see the stable boy he'd spoken with just a few days before.

"Yeah, thanks to the mercy of the gods."

The stable boy ran up to him. "Is everything okay? Do you need medical attention?"

"No, I'm fine."

"You sure? You look kind of pale."

"Yeah, just need some rest. By the way, I never got your name."

"Oh, my name is Salem."

"Good to know. Thank you, Salem. You may go about your business. I'm going inside."

"Alright. See you later."

"See you later." Greyson said, not entirely sure of his own words.

The bath didn't help. Neither did the meditation. Not even a walk in the wooded acreage of the estate could calm the jitters. Greyson was falling apart. It was killing him. The memory of the betrayal still burned fresh got and refused to be soothed. It wasn't that Greyson was angry about the divulgence of the information, nor was he angry that Calef betrayed the trust he'd put in him when he confided in the man. Truth be told, he wasn't angry at all.

He was afraid. He was afraid of what could become of Calef. Yes, the betrayal was severe, and it was something that others might have had the transgressor executed for, but... Greyson still cared about Calef, even if they weren't on the best of terms. If someone tried to get back at him for a previous misdeed, or he tried so etching new and got caught...

That was the final straw. Greyson didn't give himself anymore time to think things through. In spite of the long lecture about planning ahead and upholding the family status, Greyson ran into the stables and saddled Tarrok up himself. Brandishing a full set of Fallheart armour and his sword, Greyson got up on the horse and headed into Avalon at breakneck pace.