Made at Home

In the weeks to follow—Evony made herself well at home in Silverhollow.

A new routine began as she and her father grew accustomed to their new hometown; Terian found a job at the local press, Alejandro and Manny finished all renovations on the house, and Evony's room upstairs was now very much lived-in, with a messy bed, clothes strewn carelessly over the hamper, and a few loose books lying halfway read on her nightstand.

The town constantly covered in snow seemed to grow a thicker blanket of the icy fluff as time continued to pass—because now, December was drawing near, as was the annual month-long convention.

Evony began her job at Silver Peaks—thoroughly enjoying the enormity and comfort of the gigantic castle-like lodge—and she occasionally met with Osric Azarias to assist him with some minor task or another, like transporting documents or informing him of any unruly behavior from the other employees. Most of her regular tasks consisted of cleaning rooms, doing laundry, and periodically helping with the dishes in the enormous kitchen of the dining hall, where she would sometimes cross paths with Cally, one of the many cooks working under Osric's employ.

It was quite a lot of work, but it turned out to be a surprisingly peaceful job, as Silver Peaks wasn't currently hosting many guests—but Osric warned her of how drastically this would soon change, and the wide, empty halls would soon be filled with comers from all the nations and territories across Concordia.

For now, however, everything was peaceful and normal—and when Evony's day of work was done, she'd stroll out of Silver Peaks, march across town, and meet all of her new friends at the Silver Hollow Club.

She'd gotten used to seeing Javari's flashy shows on the stage, wherein he'd reveal yet another new firearm to be released during the Christmas season—and Aldric spent more time in the club than he did his isolated shack now. Cally would join with them, telling them of whatever gossip she managed to overhear from Bellura and her friends lately—and nearly every single night, the four of them hid in the back room, traded information, then hung out at the bar of the club, spending the rest of the night drinking, chatting, and laughing.

Once the day was over, Evony would return home—often finding her father slumped over the desk in the living room, fast asleep over his keyboard after writing yet another longwinded article for the Silverhollow Inquiry—and she would retire to her attic bedroom, gazing into the ceiling, smirking, and pondering on her new friends, forgetting to finish any of the books she'd started, drifting off to sleep as the open books lay forgotten beside her.

There was a time when she quite enjoyed escaping into a good written story—but now, in this new life in Silverhollow, strangely enough, she felt no need to escape from regular life anymore.

Regular life had become surprisingly pleasant in the past few weeks.

And—despite all of her new friends performing their own little investigation to the strange events in town, and to the reptilian appearance on the outskirts—nothing had come of their investigation so far. Cally hadn't heard any particularly concerning gossip from Bellura, Osric seemed to be an ordinary employer aside from his eccentricities, and no other reptilians had appeared in town since.

So—as of now—everything was simply, peacefully okay.

A week before December—Evony arrived to work in the late morning, as she always did.

She sauntered up the wide snowy path, climbing the stairs and approaching the huge, elegant building, thinking of Aldric's fun and comforting voice, staring down at the ground and smiling while she did.

Then, she glanced up and slowed to a stop—spotting something familiar, something she'd seen once before.

Off to the left, over the balcony and far in the distance—a human figure was strolling into the woods, quickly vanishing from sight.

Evony blinked, sighing deeply and wearing a flattened expression. She glanced up at the building, then back, feeling both conflicted and irritated.

"Seriously," she grumbled, draping her leg over the balcony. "𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 doing this again…?"

Evony landed on the icy terrain on the other side, breaking into a quick march and hurrying to follow the cloaked figure into the distant trees.

At a quick glimpse, the figure didn't look like Aldric, and it wasn't quite as stocky as the cloaked reptilian she'd seen here weeks ago—plus, this person appeared to have been wearing a hat, if she saw it right.

Whoever they were, they certainly weren't the same people from last time.

"Oh my God," Evony groaned, sliding her hand into her pocket and slowly pulling out the green Zapper, which Aldric had personally upgraded for her two weeks ago. "I have gotta stop… following people… out here…"

Her eyes scanned over the area, sweeping across the trees and open paths, just able to hear the snapping of twigs and the rustle of frozen leaves from afar. So, she quickened her pace, stepping over a log and following the noise with a brisk stride.

The longer she walked—the clearer it became, far ahead, the figure of a stranger in a cloak, the hood down and the hair mostly covered by a dark, crooked hat. In fact, the person appeared to be carrying a cane, a small round object floating around beside him.

Evony squinted through the trees, just recognizing him and skidding to a stop.

"Osric!" she hollered.

Osric Azarias suddenly halted—turning and gazing back at her through his steampunk goggles. Olliver swiveled around, his pixilated visage now facing her as well.

Evony marched onward again, maneuvering over roots and patches of ice until she finally reached them, stopping and giving them a questioning look. "What're you doing out here?"

Osric glanced over at Olliver, then back at her, flashing a whimsical smile. "I'd ask you the same thing, dear."

Evony shot him an odd little squint.

"Well, seeing as… I'm simply walking out to my old storage shed," Osric added, tapping the top of his cane and making a gentle step toward her. "And, for whatever reason… you felt the need to follow."

"I jus…" Evony stammered, gulping and quickly assessing her thoughts. "Well, I… I followed someone else out here a few weeks ago, and it turned out to be really necessary. Long story…"

Then, she stopped and made another strange face.

"Your storage shed," Evony uttered. "The shack out here is 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴?"

"Oh yes," Osric replied simply. "I haven't actually used it in quite a while… but, I confess… I was simply curious as to why you're visiting it so regularly now."

Evony reeled slightly back, her heart making an anxious jump.

Even with shielded eyes, it seemed obvious that Osric was surveying her rather intently now.

The two were silent for a few seconds, though it felt to Evony as if hours were passing by.

Then, Osric gently tilted his head, revealing a curious little half-smile.

"Whatever you're hiding from me," he said softly, taking another step closer. "Is it illegal?"

Evony swallowed roughly, her mind racing, thinking of Aldric and everything she knew about him. And—despite his vigilante sort of lifestyle—she couldn't think of anything truly illegal he'd done thus far.

"No," she mumbled.

Osric made a nod. "Is it going to jeopardize Silver Peaks?"

Evony shook her head. "No…"

Osric slowed to a stop just a foot away, staring at her. "Is it going to jeopardize 𝘺𝘰𝘶?"

Evony gulped again, pondering on everything and shaking her head a second time. "No…"

Osric's smirk seemed to widen just a bit. Then, he made a mild, dismissive shrug, strolling right past her and venturing back toward the direction of Silver Peaks.

"Then I suppose I don't need to know," he disclosed. "Yet."

Evony wheeled around and stared after him for a moment, feeling truly perplexed and somewhat stunned by him. It was almost as if he could read minds, as if he was always a step or two ahead of everyone else…

Just when she moved to follow him—Osric stopped again, holding up a finger and turning back to face her.

"Hooold on," he said. "I am curious about one other thing. Did you just follow me out here because you wanted to stop me from reaching the storage shed?"

Evony paused, then shook her head once more.

"No," she replied honestly. "I was just worried about…"

"Ahh," Osric smiled warmly. "You were just worried. Good. Let's get out of the cold now."

He spun around and began to walk off again, Evony staring after him and feeling even more bewildered now.

In reality, she was worried about the close call of a few weeks ago happening to another person—but she hadn't told Osric anything about it.

Yet still, somehow, he seemed to fully understand her motive regardless.

"So weird," she murmured before following in his footsteps.

Evony joined by his side, Olliver hovering around them, and Osric strode back to the Silver Peaks entrance, sliding gracefully over the balcony with her close behind him.

"I hope you're prepared to meet a bit of royalty today," Osric remarked, facing the elegant entryway and sparing her a glimpse.

"Royalty?" Evony asked.

"Oh yes. One of the guests to the annual Christmas Convention… well, he always arrives fashionably early, just to spend a bit of time enjoying the town before the hustle and bustle arrives," Osric explained. "The prince of the British Empire."

"What?" Evony breathed without thinking, quickly forcing herself calm. "Jesus. Are you… really? Are you serious?"

"Mhm. The Royal Family is gracing us with their son today," Osric affirmed with a nod. "Donovan Windsor. He's usually the only member of the Royal Family to actually attend the convention, given the busy lives the rest of them lead… but that's perfectly fine by me. He's a little entitled, but really, he's not so bad. I imagine he'll turn out quite well, if he can get away from some of his… usual circles…"

He paused, then glanced over at Evony again.

"Maybe you can help him with that," Osric remarked in a low, thoughtful tone.

Evony gave him a strange look, and Osric simply marched on, pulling open the double-doors and stepping inside.

He walked in with Olliver floating along behind his head, Evony entering the building just behind them. The three of them were greeted by a blast of warm, comforting air, strolling into the spacious, cabin-like lobby and quickly peeling off their gloves.

Then, Evony stared straight ahead, feeling an instant knot form in the pit of her stomach.

At the front counter were two girls whom she was most displeased to see—Bellura and Trisha, leaning on the counter, giggling snidely, flipping their hair back, and trading loud conversation with each other.

The two girls fell suddenly silent and expressionless when they spotted Evony and Osric.

"Ladies," Osric smiled politely, strolling forward with a kind little bow of the head. "Waiting for someone?"

"Mm-hm," Bellura nodded, looking and sounding rather agitated. "Our friend works here, and she's going on lunch break soon."

"Ah, yes… Cally," Osric replied. "Although… I don't remember you waiting around the counter for her before. Forgive my curiosity… but I do expect Mr. Windsor to arrive any moment now. That wouldn't have anything to do with your being here, would it?"

Bellura and Trisha traded subtle glimpses, saying nothing.

Osric cracked another smile. "Hah, I knew it. Fangirls."

Evony smirked at him from behind.

"Oh—well, excuse 𝘮𝘦 for wanting to be close to someone of actual importance," Bellura snarled in response, straightening up and swinging her neck at him. "That's what a real leader does, and that's what my father does. But I wouldn't expect any understanding of that concept from 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰."

Osric chuckled and opened his mouth to reply—but Evony was suddenly standing beside him now, and she spoke up first.

"Aww—and look at 𝘺𝘰𝘶," Evony mocked, tilting her head and shooting Bellura a caustic smile. "Your daddy did everything in life for you—and you're here knocking a guy who actually 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 for his success. Yeah, that 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 makes you all big and important, doesn't it? God—you're so pathetic and backwards, it literally makes my head hurt."

"What? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 did you say to me? You worthless little 𝘱𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵?" Bellura stormed forward and rounded on her, nostrils flaring and eyes wide with offense. "Maybe your stupid head hurts because of that 𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳—!"

BANG.

Evony jumped at the deafening noise—a vase on the front counter suddenly exploding into shards—and Bellura leaped from her skin with a shriek, staggering back and gaping at Osric as if he had slapped her across the face.

Evony blinked and glanced over; it took her a moment to realize what had happened.

Osric was holding his cane perfectly outright, the bottom of it now removed, revealing a sleek metal gun barrel. He was aiming it at the now destroyed remains of the vase on the lobby counter, Trisha now standing far away from it, her hands raised and her face painted with mortified shock.

"Sorry," Osric said with an odd nonchalance, slowly withdrawing the cane and sliding its proper bottom back on. "I do quite like these. Your family is rather prolific in its creative ways of tweaking traditional ballistics, Trisha. Well done."

Trisha said nothing, merely gaping at him as if he had changed colors before her eyes.

Evony stared at him, brows raised, choking out a breathless little laugh.

Bellura turned her predatory glare onto Osric, stomping up to him and screaming. "Are you serious right now?! You can't fire a gun in here—!"

"Oh—I actually can," Osric replied with simple whimsy, cocking his head and wearing another half-smile. "Silver Peaks is mine, dear, not yours."

"You still can't just unload a firearm in a public place—"

"Again, not a public place—𝘮𝘺 place."

"You just let off a shot next to my friend—!"

"And? I didn't hit her, now did I?" Osric smirked. "Not to worry at all. No one was in danger here. The walls of Silver Peaks are bulletproof, my dear. Intended to house the greatest lunatic in the world. Or, well… as you put it… 𝘢 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰."

Bellura reared back, looking almost frightened for a moment—and Evony watched with her mouth hanging open, grinning in delighted awe at the whole ordeal unfolding before her.

Suddenly defeated, Bellura and Trisha rejoined sides and thundered over to the doors.

"My father 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 be hearing about this, Azarias!" Bellura yelled back over her shoulder, pushing the doors open rather roughly.

"Oh, please—do tell him," Osric smiled and waved in response. "I look forward to seeing the look on his face this Christmas."

Bellura groaned loudly and tossed up her hands, kicking the doors fully open and marching outside. She and Trisha vanished from the building, leaving Evony, Osric, and Olliver alone in the lobby now.

Then, Evony slowly turned, ogling Osric with the utmost of fascination.

"How do you get 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 with stuff…?" she muttered breathlessly.

"I'm the greatest inventor in the world," Osric replied with a shrug. "Privilege. Privilege is the only determining factor there. Not a very nice way of doing things. Though, I have to admit… I do quite enjoy it at times."

Evony laughed. "You are so cool…"

Osric tilted his head with a smile. "Well, thank you. I appreciate the compliment. I suppose I should let you get to work now. But, before I do…"

He faced her fully, glimpsing around for a moment, then aiming his goggles back at her.

"I would like to ask a small favor of you," Osric said, softening his voice and raising a finger. "But only if you don't mind."

"I don't," Evony assured. "What is it?"

Osric bit his lip, hesitating for a second and glancing around again.

"It's really not a… task, so to speak," he mumbled. "Not like carrying my documents downstairs and sorting them every day… which I do appreciate very much, by the way… but, no, this is more of an eyes-and-ears thing."

"Oh," Evony uttered. "Like looking for more employees acting out behind your back…?"

"Well… sort of," Osric replied with a sideways nod. "But you don't need to keep an eye out for any Landry situations anymore. No, this is different. I'd just like you to… watch. Watch, and listen, and get close to others if you can."

Evony's eyes narrowed questioningly at him. "You mean the… convention people…?"

"Yes," Osric confirmed. "The great and the good are going to fill these rooms and halls before long… and when they do, I would greatly appreciate some insight on their… endeavors."

Evony stared at him, peeking over his shoulder and seeing that there was still nobody nearby. Then, she met his eyes again and lowered her own voice.

"It sounds like you're asking me to be a spy," she whispered.

"Well… it probably sounds that way because it 𝘪𝘴 that way," Osric told her swiftly. "But… I understand if you're not comfortable with—"

"No, no—I'll do it," Evony told him. "I don't mind."

Osric paused for a moment, slowly lowering his hand and staring at her with intrigue. "That was awfully quick."

Evony hesitated, swallowing and managing a shrug. "I just… wanna do a good job here."

Osric made a small nod, gnawing his lip again and revealing a hint of a smile. "Ah-huh. Or… maybe you're just curious about all the same things I am. But, I suppose we can get into all that another time…"

He glimpsed over at the double-doors, then turned back to her.

"Do you know what I've noticed about Donovan Windsor in all his visits here?" Osric said. "Two things. One—the mayor's daughter sets her sights on him every single time he's in town. And two—Donovan seems to be drawn to an entirely different class of people than her."

Evony slowly nodded, remaining silent and giving him a peculiar look.

"He's awfully sweet on my female employees here," Osric told her knowingly. "He likes to have his servants step in and help them work. He seems to really enjoy sweeping a young girl off her feet and showing her a completely different lifestyle from the one they're accustomed to."

Evony stared. "O… kay."

"He doesn't shine that same light on Bellura… I'm guessing because Bellura is already high-class and spoiled," Osric added. "Donovan is attracted to the type of person who… isn't like her. Do you see what I'm saying?"

"I… guess so," Evony murmured. "But why does that matter…?"

Osric sighed and fell silent, planting his hands atop his cane and merely smiling.

Evony read his expression—then instantly reared back, giving him a wary stare. "Oh, God… you really want me to just—?"

"No no no—listen," Osric cut her off, raising hand. "If you want to—and 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 if you want to—I'd like you to get closer to him. If he tries to swoon you, then I'd like you to let him, just a little bit. Just enough to become friends with him. And then—when the rest of the convention arrives here—you'll already have your foot in the door. You'll be able to befriend the others easier if you've already befriended him first. That's your way into the high-class circle. You with me?"

"Ah… well… yeah," Evony mumbled, nodding down at her feet and feeling as if it all made sense, though it still unnerved her. "I just don't know if that'll… work with me. I feel like Cally would be better…"

"Do you?" Osric asked. "Why?"

Evony sighed heavily, raising her head and gazing into his goggles with a look of apprehension strewn across her face.

"Because," she grumbled, flipping up her bangs and revealing the dark red mark etched along her eye.

Osric gently cocked his head, seeming to survey the scar for a moment. Then, he shook his head and let out a breath, his mouth flattening into a sad half-smile.

"I think you care more about that than anyone else does," he told her sincerely. "You are not 𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘺, Evony. You're 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 not."

Evony lowered her bangs and shrugged.

Osric studied her, reading her unconvinced visage. Then, he smiled again, another knowing sort of smile that seemed to belong more to him than anyone else in Silverhollow.

"Coming to the American Colony from the British Empire is quite an adjustment for them," he told her. "But, I happen to know… that if anyone can win over a young British vagabond, and make them feel more at home here in America… you can. And I can't imagine you being very ugly since you managed to pull that off once already."

Evony blinked down at the floor, feeling a slow, strange chill slither up and down her. She easefully raised her head, gazing into him again with a glimmer of shock amid her stare.

And Osric—practically reading her thoughts yet again—merely maintained his smile, answering her unspoken questions.

"Like I said," he muttered softly. "We can get into all of that another time."

At that, Osric turned on his heel and began to stroll away, venturing off to the wide open doorway that led into the rest of the lodge. He placed his hand on it, pausing and turning back to her one last time.

"When you do eventually cross paths with Donovan," Osric said. "I'm sure his reaction to you will prove me right even more."

Then, he stepped around the corner and disappeared from sight, Olliver floating off with him.

Evony stood rooted to the spot, entirely still in the middle of the lobby for several seconds thereafter, her mind racing with a million new thoughts.

She was sure now, almost positive that Osric knew far more than he'd ever let on before—and it seemed that he knew about Aldric, about him living in the shack, and about Evony's friendship with him.

And beyond that—he was, just as Aldric suspected, silently investigating all the same things that Aldric himself was.

Osric seemed to feel as if something sinister was in the works, something he couldn't outright speak about, because everyone in the town and everyone attending the convention could potentially be involved. Evony couldn't know what or why, couldn't know how it all tied together—but one thing was for certain.

Osric most assuredly wanted all the same answers Aldric did.

But about what? She hadn't the faintest clue as of now.

Perhaps following his instructions and getting closer with the conventioneers would provide her some more answers.

Evony turned, giving a long, nervous stare to the double-doors.

Then, feeling a shudder down her spine—she marched quickly away, hoping to begin her work and hide from whoever might soon arrive.

She'd introduce herself to Donovan Windsor when the time came—but certainly not right now.

-----

When the end of the workday came—Evony tried her best to remain awake and alert.

She planned to head off to the Silver Hollow and meet her friends like always, and—since Cally got off an hour earlier than she did—all of them usually made it to the club before her. Evony was always the last to show up.

Though now, as the early evening set in and as Evony stepped out of the building, she shuddered, zipping her jacket firmly closed and marching off beneath a gentle downfall of snow. She marched down the wide path, trying to ignore her exhaustion and the mild aches and pains she felt—as she'd spent the majority of this day doing laundry, huge loads of sheets and heavy blankets, all of which she had to carry and wheel back and forth to and from the laundry room by herself.

But, she didn't want to be tired, not before the enjoyable part of her day.

Then, just when she reached the edge of the path—her phone made a faint 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘨 from her pocket.

Evony groaned, her breath escaping as an icy cloud, pulling out her phone and expecting to see a barrage from her father again. Terian had developed a habit of texting her rather religiously whenever nightfall drew near, as he wasn't accustomed to her being gone for so long.

But, this text was from Cally, and it read;

𝙃𝙚𝙮, 𝙬𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙗 2𝙙𝙖𝙮

Evony stared down at her phone, making a face and typing a response.

𝙒𝙝𝙮?

She hit send, and moments later, a reply arrived. 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘾𝙪𝙯 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙖'𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙅𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙞. 𝙋𝙡𝙪𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙯 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙬

Evony typed another response.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙜𝙤?

Send. 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝙒𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚

𝙆𝙖𝙮… 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩?

Send. 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘼𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙘'𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙪

Evony hesitated, gazing down at her phone and feeling befuddled.

"Oy!"

She jumped and leaped away—whipping around to see Aldric just beside her, propping himself up on the railing and leaning halfway over it, grinning broadly at her.

"Jesus—𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬," Evony breathed, lowering her hand from her chest.

"Haaah—I'm sorry," Aldric laughed, glancing up at Silver Peaks, then back at her. "Blimey, I've never seen it from so close before. Nice place. Can't wait to stay here. Do they do room service here? Do you know?"

Evony stared at him. "Oh, God… don't do that to me. If they do room service during the convention, then I'm probably gonna be the person doing it."

Aldric made a pondering face. "Huh. I didn't think of that…"

"Yeah, well… I'm already dreading that enough," Evony told him honestly. "I know Bellura and her dad are gonna be staying here all through December. If I end up having to wait on them, then I'm seriously gonna harm myself…"

Aldric chuckled, then quickly shook his head and cleared his throat. "Ahm… that's… that's really not funny…"

Evony's eyes narrowed at him, flashing a curt smile. "You laughed though."

Aldric met her eyes, slowly revealing his charming grin again.

Evony snickered and flicked him on the arm. "Where're we going, dingus?"

"To the seal place," Aldric beamed, grabbing her arm and pulling her onward. "Andiamo!"

"Andia-what? Oh—kay," Evony stammered, as Aldric began dragging her toward the woods.

The two of them veered away from the path and broke off toward the left, marching through the foot-deep snow and heading toward the woodlands. Evony glimpsed up over her shoulder, gazing at the clock tower at the top of Silver Peaks for a second, just before it vanished behind the treetops overhead.

They both continued walking through the snowy woods for a while, the sky continuing to darken as they did.

Evony slid her hands into her pockets, stealing a glimpse of him, many curious thoughts on her mind as she found herself staring at the faint, tiny scar on his cheek. The scars were so very few and unnoticeable on his visage, almost invisible, contrary to the ones beneath his overcoat's sleeves—but she never forgot how brightly they illuminated the night she met him.

Aldric caught her staring, perking his brow at her as they walked. "What's a'matter?"

"What? No… nothing," Evony muttered, facing forward again. "I just wondered… something."

"Well—ask away," Aldric replied nonchalantly.

Evony sighed.

"When did you start using that shack?" she inquired.

Aldric glanced over at her again. "Aaah… dunno. Year or so ago. I just found it out there and made myself at home."

Evony squinted at him curiously. "Just like that…?"

"Yeah. I mean, well…" Aldric nodded sideways. "First day was a bit cramped… full of boxes and such… but when I came back the next day, it was all cleared out. I figured whoever owned it didn't have any use for it anymore, since they moved all their stuff elsewhere. So… y'know… home sweet home for me."

Evony nodded. "Okay. So… you showed up, you spent the night there, and then whoever owned all the stuff in there cleared it all out for you."

"Well… I dunno that they cleared it out 𝘧𝘰𝘳 me," Aldric shrugged. "I just took it as a happy coincidence. Why… does it matter?"

"Kinda," Evony said. "You don't know who owns the shack?"

"Nope."

"Osric."

Aldric slowed to a stop, turning to her and giving her a strange look. "Osric what?"

"Osric owns the shack," Evony clarified. "He told me so today."

Aldric stared, his brow hardening as he took on a more thoughtful expression.

"And… he basically came out and told me that he… knew about us," Evony added.

Aldric's eyes narrowed even more.

"I mean… like… about me and you being friends," Evony elaborated, swatting between him and herself. "He knows you're here… and he knows me and you hang out together. He's not really upfront about it, but… he definitely knows."

Aldric was silent for several long seconds, still staring at her as his mind raced up a storm.

"So he… what… he just knows who I am, and he knows that I'm here?" he uttered. "And he doesn't care?"

"In a bad way? No. He doesn't care," Evony stated. "But it kinda looks like he cares in a good way. He probably cleared all that stuff out so you could have an almost decent place to live. He really seems like he's ahead of everyone else on… like… everything. I think he knows what you're doing… and he's more than happy to let you do it… because he's doing it, too. You all have the same goal, here."

"How d'you know?" Aldric exhaled. "Did he say something to you?"

Evony nodded. "Yeah… he asked me to spy on the convention people when they show up. He's suspicious as hell of them. He knows something's up. I don't know what exactly that is, but… he seems to be really untrusting of everyone around it, just like you are."

Aldric reeled slightly back, biting his lip and nodding down at the ground. "So he really did. He wrangled you in because you're…"

"An outsider," Evony affirmed. "Yeah… I guess he really can only trust outsiders. And that's… basically just me and you."

The two of them shared an intense stare.

Aldric looked rather serious now, sighing heavily. "That's worrying. I mean, that's… really, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 worrying. If you and I are the only people he can trust, being as wealthy and influential as he is… then he must think something wickedly bad is about to go down. He should be able to snap his fingers and have an army at his back in a moment's notice. The fact that he can't trust anyone in the regular system of things is a 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 of a red flag."

"So… whatever he thinks is gonna happen," Evony murmured. "It's really, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 bad."

"Looks that way… yeah," Aldric agreed. "And it's probably intertwined with the powerful folks, like we thought."

"And… if they really are helping reptilian extremists to get here," Evony pondered. "Then they have some big messed-up endgame they wanna get to, using the reptilian attackers as a catalyst for it… just like you said."

"Blimey." Aldric released another breath and ran a hand down his face. "Can't trust government no matter what time we're in…"

He waved her on, and the two of them continued their stride through the woods. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes thereafter.

Then, Evony glimpsed over at him yet again.

"Aldric," she said. "You haven't… you've never met anyone of royalty, have you?"

Aldric rolled his neck, cocking his head and giving her an odd stare.

"British royalty," Evony clarified.

"What—the Royal Family?" Aldric laughed. "Nooo—my father worked in the military, and he just worked on a bunch of genetic stuff. That's as high as I've ever been on the ladder back home. Never any higher."

Evony nodded and fell silent.

Aldric squinted at her. "Why d'you ask?"

Evony smacked her lips and shrugged. "Ehh… it's not important…"

"Oooh, c'mon—that's a weird thing to ask outta nowhere," Aldric pestered, poking her in the side. "There's a reason you brought that up. Tell me."

Evony hesitated, sighing deeply and making another shrug. "I was just… I was just gonna ask what to expect, if… you'd met them before. But you haven't, so…"

"Why d'you need to expect that?" Aldric wondered, leaning over and surveying her rather closely. "Are you 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 to? You're gonna meet the Royal Family?"

"No—just—the prince," Evony answered. "Apparently, he comes to this convention, and Osric wants me to get close to him."

Aldric reared back, facing fully forward again.

The two walked in silence for the next few seconds.

"Hm," Aldric mumbled. "Y'know what—Cally and Javari are my source for all the hometown gossip, and I've heard tell from them that Osric Azarias likes to use his convention for scoping out new potential."

Evony turned her head and shot him a questioning look.

"More specifically… an heir," Aldric explained. "He doesn't have any family. There's been a rumor floating around Silverhollow for a couple years now… saying that he's still looking for an heir. Supposedly, he's had conversations with some of the younger convention attendees that allude to this little motive of his. So, y'know… maybe he wants to scope out Prince Windsor for that same reason. He's probably still looking for someone to take over his livelihood for him."

"Oh. Well, I don't… think so," Evony muttered. "Osric wanted me to be his eyes and ears for anything suspicious happening between the convention people… and he told me getting close to Donovan is my foot in the door. I think that's why…"

"Ah. Well—then it'll work to our benefit," Aldric figured. "But I dunno how you're gonna get up close and personal with him just like that."

"Well… apparently he has a thing for people like me," Evony grumbled. "But we'll see…"

"He's got a… 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘵?"

Aldric skidded to a stop and ogled her.

Evony halted, choking out a sudden barking laugh.

Aldric shot her a look. "What're you laughing at?"

"I'm sorry," Evony giggled, shaking her head. "I've never heard you sound so freaking British before. You know there's no 'o' in 'what,' right?"

"That doesn—that's not—listen," Aldric stuttered, swatting the air and making her laugh even more. "You're not gonna go and fall in love with some royalty, are you? All your friends live down here on earth, y'know. Not up in the ivory towers."

"Oh my God… Aldric, look at me," Evony chuckled, raising her bangs. "Do I look like someone a prince would take home?"

Aldric went quiet, giving her scar a brief glance before meeting her eyes again.

Though now—all the sudden—his expression seemed to soften, gazing into her and releasing a deep cloud of breath.

"I never even notice that," Aldric mumbled, giving her scar a mild nod. "I dunno why you do."

Evony slowly lowered her bangs, staring at him and falling momentarily speechless.

Then, she laughed it off and pocketed her hands.

"I'm just saying I'm not his type," Evony disclosed, staring to march onward. "I'm not gonna disappear from all my friends and run off to some royal palace somewhere. I finally actually have friends… and I'm not just gonna leave them all behind even if this guy does turn out to like me. Which I seriously doubt is even gonna happen."

"Oh… you've no idea," Aldric breathed, running a hand over his mouth and sighing.

The two walked on, Evony giving him another look of intrigue.

Aldric glimpsed at her and let out a dry little laugh. "You really don't."

"I don't what…?"

"You don't… have any idea how you look to other people."

"Okay… and… what's that mean?"

"You just…"

He stopped walking yet again, turning to her and gesturing, pondering intently before he spoke.

"You seem to think you're just this… faceless… nobody," Aldric tried to explain. "But you really don't look that way to… anyone else."

Evony paused, staring into his deep emerald eyes and feeling a spark of curious wonder.

"What do I look like?" she said softly.

Aldric released a cloud of breath, visible in the night air. He tossed up a hand, shaking his head and glancing around for a moment, as if the correct words would appear from somewhere in the darkened trees around him.

When he met her eyes again—her heart gave a light, nervous thump, as he wore the sincerest face she'd seen on him yet.

"You look like a… prize," Aldric exhaled. "Like a… a really perfect sort of companion. You're just… well, pretty, yeah… but you've also got this fierce loyalty to you that's just… 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 hard to come by. Anyone with half a 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 would wanna take that home."

Evony stared at him wordlessly, her heart pounding, somewhat stunned and thinking of nothing to say for several seconds after.

"I d…" she uttered. "I don't think… people have ever… cared about that before."

"Well. People are stupid," Aldric told her definitively, raising his brows and cracking a smirk. "But for me? I've had precious few friends, being out here and living the way I do—and I don't take a new friend lightly. It's not easy for people to be my friend, y'know—and yet, well, here you still are."

Evony was quiet for a moment again, gulping and feeling a million things welling up inside.

"I don't… I really don't think he's gonna see me the same way you do," she murmured.

Aldric's smirk seemed to grow. "Yeah… well… here's hoping. C'mon."

He tapped her arm and strolled forward, Evony following suit.

They both wandered for a little while longer—until they finally emerged in a vast open clearing, a great expanse of flattened snowy land, a large and dark body of water visible just across the clearing adjacent from them. In fact—there was a lot of movement along the water's edge, numerous animals, seals huddled together in groups, a few of them worming around and bumping into one another. Cally and Javari stood among them—Javari holding up a dead fish and allowing a seal to chomp it out of his hands—and far above and beyond them, the night sky seemed to shine with smooth, silky waves of deep, ominous color, aurora borealis giving the night a glorious, luminous glow.

"Whoa," Evony breathed, pausing and absorbing the beautiful scene before her.

"Yeah," Aldric smiled. "Love it here…"

Cally let out a shriek followed by countless breathless giggles—as one of the bigger seals head-butted her in the stomach and knocked her to the ground. The seal wiggled halfway on top of her, several other seals rushing to join the dogpile, and Javari's mouth fell agape, dropping his handful of dead fish and looking as if he wanted to do something, but he didn't know what.

"Ahhh—Aldric?!" Javari hollered, spotting him and hurriedly waving him over.

Aldric smiled, sauntering forward and smoothly rolling up the sleeves of his overcoat.

He slowly raised his arms, took in a deep breath, and allowed his eyes to drift shut—and then, the scars up and down his arms began to glow a magnificent neon green.

Evony smiled peacefully as she watched him.

The seals all began to reel around, spotting the anomaly that was Aldric, and one by one, they started to thump their way toward him. Before long, many of the seals were standing around him and simply staring in amazement, which allowed Cally to reach her feet again.

"Jesus Christ," Javari breathed, grabbing her arm and yanking her upright. "Y'okay…?"

"Ahahahaha," Cally snickered, swiping her messy bangs aside. "Aww—they just wanted hugs!"

"Ah-huh," Javari muttered, unconvinced. "Or to 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 you."

Aldric lowered his arms, his neon glow gently fading away.

When the light show ended, the seals began to lose interest, turning away and worming off to other directions. As the creatures dispersed, Javari and Cally strolled over to Aldric and Evony, giving them an expectant look.

"You guys took a while to get here," Javari remarked, brandishing a coy smile.

"Right. Because we were 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨," Aldric shot back, returning his snarky smirk in full. "And we've gotta fill you in, too."

Then—Evony and Aldric took turns explaining what they'd discussed in the woods, everything about Osric, his suspicions, his shack, and the arrival of the prince. When they finished, Javari and Cally traded thoughtful stares with one another.

"Oh man," Cally sighed. "We finally have something real to talk about, and now we have nowhere to actually talk anymore…"

"Well… I'm gonna be staying in one of the top suites in Silver Peaks through December, and I was gonna let Aldric stay there with me," Evony commented. "You guys could just meet up with us in there. We could probably all use that room, if I'm being honest. Those rooms are apparently huge."

"Well, yeah… but that's in December," Cally mumbled. "It's not gonna be December for another eight days…"

"Yeah… the club's off-limits for all this conspiracy talk," Javari confirmed with a nod. "Trisha showed up again today, and she decided to just take over my back room. But this time, she's been there for literal hours, and she brought that little pinup girlfriend with her."

"Bellura," Cally said. "Yeah, her and Trisha were both really pissed off today…"

"I bet I know why," Evony murmured.

"Weeell—speaking of keeping secrets from my bitch sister," Javari grinned, reaching into his black jacket and pulling out a tiny silver handgun. "I also had to find a safe place to give you this. Figured the literal middle of nowhere would work. Here."

He placed the tiny firearm in Evony's hand.

"It's a 25 caliber," Javari informed, sliding two spare magazines out of his other pocket and handing them to her as well. "And it's one of our pocket guns, made specifically for a woman's convenience. You really can just stick it in your pocket and keep it there."

"Hence why it's so teeny," Evony remarked, giving the gun a once-over. "Yeah. I like it."

"Good, but just—don't whip it out unless you really have to," Javari advised. "I got the serial number off it—took me forever—but it's still a SAM Corp product. If you end up using that thing, and Trisha somehow traces it back to me, then all hell's bonna break loose in my family. I just wanna try to 𝘯𝘰𝘵 have that happen. Okay?"

"Okay," Evony nodded, slipping the gun into her jacket. "I'm not gonna use it unless the shit's completely hitting the fan."

"Hence the reason for the supped-up Zapper," Cally figured.

"And the supped-up bestie bodyguard," Javari added with a grin, nudging Aldric with his elbow.

"Do we really just have to meet up out 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 from now on?" Cally complained, embracing herself and trying to keep her teeth from chattering. "It's way too cold out here. We need another place we can all hang out and talk about stuff."

"The Witch's Tit?" Javari suggested.

"Nooo—it takes half the day just to hike up there," Aldric replied, shaking his head. "Given the work schedules you lot have, that's not gonna work."

"My house," Evony said.

The other three turned and stared at her.

Evony met all their eyes, shrugging and speaking on. "My uncles are usually gone working, and my dad's always sucked into his writing. The attic is my bedroom, too. We'll have enough privacy to just talk about whatever we want to."

"Yeah, but…" Cally glanced between her and Aldric, seeming doubtful. "Doesn't your dad…?"

"He wrote about the green man before, yeah," Evony informed. "Back when he worked for the other paper in Starrylake, he did. But I doubt he's still writing that stuff now. He's not gonna blow anything for us—and I didn't plan on telling him everything, anyway. As far as he's concerned, I'm just having some friends over."

"Well, yeah, I guess it could… work…" Javari pondered, stroking the hairs on his chin and examining Aldric rather closely. "Yeah… your skin's not noticeable, and your hair just looks like it's been dyed pine green for Christmas or something…"

"Then that's my story," Aldric decided, planting a hand on Javari's face and pushing it away. "I'm cosplaying a Christmas tree."

"Oh god… please don't say that if you meet my dad, Aldric," Evony griped with a laugh. "He's gonna think I'm hanging out with a bunch of friggin' lunatics…"

"Ooo—okay—speaking of disguises," Javari beamed, clasping his hands together and giving all of them an excited look. "You guys—hear me out. Codenames. I've been thinking about codenames. What should our codenames be?"

"No," Cally said, folding her arms and turning away. "No, no, we are 𝘯𝘰𝘵 doing this…"

"Oh—we are 𝘴𝘰 doing this," Javari grinned, slapping a hand onto her shoulder and looking to Evony and Aldric for support. "Come ooon—codenames! Think up some codenames!"

Evony glanced over at Aldric, then loosely swiped at her own bangs. "I guess mine could be Scar-Face…"

Aldric let out an explosive laugh—then instantly covered his mouth and shot her a forbidding glare. "Oooh—𝘯𝘰! That's not funny!"

"You 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 though!" Evony giggled.

"Oh—fine—then it's Scar-Face and Scar-Arms," Aldric said, holding his exposed arms upright. "The ultimate crime-fighting duo."

"Oh my God—you guys—everyone's gonna know who you are," Javari stated, smacking his palm and shaking his head at them. "You can't have your own literal scars in the freaking codenames! You're just ID-ing yourselves! You're not even trying!"

"Javari Havarti," Cally mumbled.

Javari suddenly stopped, making a baffled face and turning to her in bewilderment.

"Javari Havarti," Cally repeated, flashing a smirk. "That's yours."

Javari gaped at her for a second, tilting his head and ogling her bizarrely.

"Havarti is a kind of cheese," he said with a flattened tone.

"Yeah," Cally replied curtly. "And you 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 cheese."

Javari raised his finger and opened his mouth to argue, then paused and stared down at the ground, lowering his arm and releasing a defeated cloud of breath. "Ohhh… fuck… I 𝘥𝘰…"

Everyone erupted with laughter—and from then on, the conversation seemed to abandon the idea of codenames, with Cally, Evony, and Aldric trying to think of more cheese-related nicknames to call Javari instead, much to his chagrin.

They all laughed and bickered playfully with one another for a while thereafter.

The seals seemed to be roused by all their commotion, thumping over to them and joining them in their fun, wiggling around and occasionally head-butting one of them in the side. Eventually, Aldric and Javari ended up in a wrestling match with the seals, making the girls laugh madly as they watched from the sidelines.

Their night unfolded with fun and levity beneath the ominous glowing sky—and Evony had never felt more at home than she did right here and now.