When Cassandra finished her story, Varian was staring at her with an expression that was a mix of pride, awe, and amusement.

He stared at her for a few minutes before speaking. "Wow... Cassandra... Just...Wow."

She laughed, taking his hand in hers. "So... Now you know the consequences of getting on my bad side."

He laughed, too. "I- I can't decide if that's a better or worse fate than the one that everyone assumes you'd bring upon them."

Cass sighed a little. "Let me guess: death?"

Varian nodded solemnly, hardly daring to meet her eyes.

"Listen, kid," she said softly, "one thing I'm anything but is unjust."

The young alchemist nodded before changing the subject around a little. "So... Does that mean you did the wedding posters and banners, too?"

She snorted, slapping her knee. Varian looked at her curiously, trying to decipher if she was okay or not. But she just kept on laughing- so hard, in fact, that she had to let go of his hand in order to wipe away tears before clutching her stomach, doubling over.

"C- Cassie?" he asked tentatively, reaching out to touch her shoulder, "are you- are you okay?"

She heaved a little sigh, wiping the last of her tears from her eyes. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... Oh, I'm so proud of those ones... Those were truly masterpieces."

Varian sat down in a chair, resting his chin in his hands and his elbows on his knees. "Tell me."

"What more is there to tell? You already know why I did it in the first place."

"Tell me why the wedding pictures were your masterpieces," he replied, "tell me why you're so proud of them."

She gave a short chuckle before pulling up a chair next to his, its back facing him, and straddling it. "That one's simple. I-"

Cassandra couldn't help it; she burst into laughter once again. She was laughing so hard, her stomach hurt and her face was going red.

"I- Fitzherbert- not expecting-"

Varian chuckled a little. "He thought it was done for once he was officially pardoned, huh?"

Cass nodded, finally settling down. "He definitely wasn't expecting it, that's for sure... And he still doesn't know it's me."

"Well, then, you're secret's safe with me."

Cass smiled at Varian. "Thanks."

They sat there for a little while longer, just looking at each other.

"You really did do a great job with those," Varian finally said in a soft voice, looking at her shyly, "the drawings themselves are great... I'll admit, the noses always gave me something to look forward to, to have a good chuckle over. And... Now that I know the story behind them, everything just got a whole lot better."

"Well, then, you'd be the first," she said, smiling, "but thanks."