2412, Iclis 17, Jyda

Reeca rubbed her eyes, erasing any traces of sleep from it. Elred did her a favor by yanking her off her sleep that morning and she had spent the following hours glaring at the shard fairy. It's either Elred didn't notice or was pretending she didn't. It's also impossible to know with Elred.

The dining hall was filled with noises of spoons clanking against marquine bowls as the servants huddled inside this packed room. While Elred was up there exploring the Sovereign's quarters as Kalida, the shard fairy's back-up identity within Synketros, Reeca was tasked to gather information on the ground.

In hindsight, this wasn't the job Reeca would be interested in. She would rather go with Elred rather than shovel this...gray goop into her mouth.

Reeca kept all the other servants of various races and characters in her periphery. All of them ate from their bowls without question with some even going as far as tipping their bowls to their mouths and sipping the whole thing with one gulp. A shiver ran through Reeca's spine as she stared down at the bowl now laid on the floor near her crossed legs.

Ugh.

This was why this assignment sucked. Her stomach turned as she wrapped her hands around the bowl's base and imitated the other servants slurping theirs with gusto. She winced and fought the urge to gag as the soup traveled down her throat, leaving a bitter taste in her tongue. What was in this?

She'd rather be in the dining hall where the Sovereign ate her meals with the generals than in this pit that smelled like rotten vegetables, sweat, and smoke. Mingle with the servants and learn while you can, Elred said. It'd be easy, Elred said.

Reeca clicked her tongue, forcing the growl in her throat to subside. Wouldn't matter if the room smells if she's dead, right?

So, as the servants finished their meals with remaining time before the work of the day started and clumped together to talk, Reeca sidled with the closest one and pretended to be interested about a girl's fancy towards the stable master in another Synketrian base who visited Akaron to update the Sovereign.

Reeca's eyes narrowed. There were other Synketrian bases. That was valuable information.

As she listened, the talk shifted to a recent intruder that escaped the base. Interesting. Rhys told her that the number of people who made it was higher than the number who got out.

The servant girl with orange hair and dull green eyes described the intruder to be another girl with light brown hair, had a bow, and accompanied a shard fairy with yellow hair wearing white robes.

Reeca's eyes widened. That sounded a lot like Cirasa. What were the chances?

"The Sovereign has been angry about it for a while now," the servant girl shifted from her seated position and tucked her orange hair behind her ear. Rounded. Half-blood, maybe?

"What did the Sovereign do?" Reeca asked.

The other servants in the circle whirled to her like they just realized she was there and listening in. Then, their shoulders relaxed. The servant girl with orange hair crossed her arms and frowned at Reeca. "Where were you?" she waved her hand. "It's all over the place now."

Reeca shrugged. Her long, glamoured hair brushed against her shoulders. Gods, how much longer would she don this stupid disguise? "I've got my duties to attend to, you know," she leveled her gaze at the servant.

"Oh," the girl stuck her bottom lip out then sighed. "The Sovereign has killed everyone who encountered and failed to catch the rogue. If only this spell ban wasn't in place, they could have caught her with magic."

"Careful, Luce," another servant with a shaved head and a feminine voice said. "She might be listening."

"I'm sorry," Luce bowed her head before wiping at her eyes with her forefinger. "The Sovereign knows it but won't admit it. She already killed Clare just because she's chosen to escort the Virtakios in. Now, Cecil and Lidra are gone too," she shook her head as tears glistened at the corner of her eyes. "I will not cry," she said to no one with a light sniffle. "I will not."

Reeca's heart twinged as Luce wiped her meager tears with the back of her hand and forced a tight smile.

"Either way, we're all stuck here if we want to live," Luce brought her hands together before flicking her gaze in Reeca's direction. "I hope you regret your choice now."

"I'm not planning on staying," Reeca grinned and stood up before any of them could process what she said. She gave them a little wave. "Thanks for the treats."

Luce waved back with a nod. "Always, comrade."

Reeca strolled out of the servants' hall before anyone could see the blush blossoming in her cheeks. Being called "comrade" was cheesy but she's smiling like an idiot as her legs took her to the kitchen. It fulfilled something inside her more than being called a friend or a lover.

Along the way, she wrapped her weaving energy around her trail and did the same thing she did in Asopus. Reeca hefted her arms and grinned when her eyes registered empty air. Good.

In fact, better.

She tramped past the open area with the large table. Elred told her that there's nothing there so they wouldn't need to search there. Reeca racked her memory with the layout of the base as Elred presented earlier this morning. That left the kitchens. That's Reeca's next destination with the servants' quarters not yielding anything useful. The armory was a possible space but she and Elred agreed they could explore that as they went out.

As if their exit would be as quiet as their entry.

Reeca shook her head. Focus on other things apart from failing. During missions, usually the thoughts of failing were the ones that pushed soldiers to it.

Not going to happen in Reeca's watch.

She sidestepped a pair of servants chatting idly about the weather from the outside world. Being invisible, she had to be careful of bumping into things and people. That proved to be a challenge when she edged into the kitchen before it closed behind a cook dressed in a graying apron.

An arm bearing plates of smoking loaves of bread swept for Reeca's head. She ducked and swerved out of the way, keeping careful watch to not displace a pan or step on random toes on the way. Okay, this was hard.

The whiff of freshly-baked bread mixed with the heavenly smell of ingredients simmering. Smoke poured from boiling cauldrons as cooks fitted with beige tunics and white aprons moved around carrying ladles or opening kegs. Reeca gritted her teeth as she wove through a throng of chefs until she reached a spot that was less busy.

Xanthy was here just two days ago. What did the Virtakios do with Synketros? Did that girl pledge herself to the Sovereign? Reeca pressed her knuckles to her lips. That couldn't be right. The servants said Xanthy escaped. Why would she escape if she became the Sovereign's ally?

Reeca raised an eyebrow. Perhaps Xanthy stole the thrones ahead of Reeca and Elred? Reeca shook her head. That's not it, either. The Sovereign wouldn't have stopped at killing the servants. She would've torn the heavens and the earth to have Xanthy's head.

So why did Xanthy need to escape?

Her eyes scanned the scene, noting the cooks' movements, the utensils, and the dishes being cooked. Most were grabbed from the different cuisines of other races featuring exotic ingredients like colorful flowers and aromatic fruits with strange appearances.

One cook dressed in a dirty apron atop sweat-ridden tunic and breeches carried nothing but a bowl of murky soup on his tray. That's suspicious considering all the other cooks were bringing batches of food enough for at least six people. A small red cap sat atop his brown mop of hair—different from the white caps the other cooks wore. Reeca watched him circle aisle after aisle, the tray of soup steady in his hands.

He passed Reeca, giving her a whiff of the soup. She wrinkled her nose at the bitter scent that crawled up her senses. What was in that, even?

The cook with the red cap trudged towards a door to the far end of the kitchen and yanked it. A loud creak tore off the hinges as Reeca peeled off the kegs and strode towards the door. Quick. Before it closes. Reeca narrowed her eyes. Where was he going?

She jammed her foot into the small space left by the door swinging shut and slid inside before letting it clip behind her. The cook didn't turn but instead continued down a set of steps leading to a dark room. Reeca flapped her wings, wincing at the cramped space. That should be enough to hover and not give the cook any indication that someone was there with him. She also didn't dare flap strongly or else risk discovery by the wind it would generate.

They continued further down, the dark thickening around them. Where was this leading to? After a few minutes of descending, Reeca's boots tapped against stone as the cook reached the last step and surged forward.

Reeca glanced left and right taking in the rough walls, the lamps stuck in metal bars nailed against stone. Look, there's one missing with glass shards underneath it. The lamp fell, maybe?

The red cap of the cook was almost the brightest thing in this room. Reeca kept that red dot as a marker as she mapped the twists and turns this place had. The arched entry to grated cells told her that this wasn't a vacation spot.

A prison, then.

But who would the Sovereign need to jail if she's known to resort to swift endings like murder? Who would she keep in this place?

After a few more turns, the cook stopped in front of a barred room. He set the tray down and slid it through a gap in the rails exactly the same height of the bowl. He grunted and disappeared to where he came from.

Reeca strained her ears until the sounds of boots scratching against stone faded in the distance. Okay. What was the issue here? Reeca flew closer to the bars to glimpse a a woman with brown hair reaching her feet. She has pale skin and a dejected look on her face.

The woman stared at her hands folded atop her lap, her white robe pooling at her feet. Her lips moved but no sound came out. Reeca racked her memory of all the faces she encountered but nothing matched the one she was looking at now. She narrowed her eyes on the woman's ears. Pointed. A fairy, then.

"You can stop hiding now," a cheery voice rang through the silence. Reeca whirled, her wings slamming against the bars as she did. The metal clanged as her bone hit. She froze as the echoes formed a reverberating doom in her ears.

"Aaaand, you just did that," the space to her left said.

Reeca dragged her eyes into that spot and found nothing. She palmed the hilt of her sword. "Who's there?"

A girl who stood up to Reeca's waist blinked into existence. Her short hair was divided into two tails curving down her head in straight locks. She glowed with a pale sheen of blue. She smiled up at Reeca, showing off three missing front teeth. "I barely get any visitors," she cocked her head to one side. "What are you doing here?"

Reeca gulped, edging away from the girl. "What are you?"

"Is it not obvious?" the little girl spread her arms.

Reeca dropped to the ground and crossed her arms. What was happening, even? "Are you going to answer my questions with questions?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know," she scratched her head and raised an eyebrow in Reeca's direction. "How about you?" Then, she chuckled. "I'm Airese and my form is that woman over there."

Reeca followed to where the girl was pointing and stared at the woman inside the cell. "Form?" she turned back to the glowing girl. "Are you the rest of the soul, roaming free?"

"You're the first one to get it right," Airese clapped her hands but no sound came out from it.

Reeca strode towards the rails and wrapped her fingers around one. "Why are you imprisoned here?"

"I'm accused of withholding information about the Virtakios," Airese followed Reeca and stood in front of her own form too.

"Do you know something about it?" Reeca asked. The cell's interior was bare, just walls and a bucket for dumping waste. The tray of soup was untouched from its perch on the floor.

"Of course," Airese said. "I'm her mother."

Reeca looked down at the blue lantern of a girl beside her. "What?"

"I know it's hard to accept in one go," Airese chuckled, drawing away from the rails to face Reeca. "I'm the Virtakios's mother."

But you're a little girl didn't quite cut Reeca's next reply. She shook her head to clear her mind of the image of Xanthy skipping along with the little blue girl. Instead, Reeca clasped her hands together, "The Sovereign has been keeping you here just because you won't tell her what you know of Xanthy?"

Airese's eyes twinkled. "So you know her."

Reeca looked down at her boots. She's my friend, Reeca wanted to say. But after that lie she pulled on Xanthy with the trailcloaker, was she still? It was all for the mission, came the reply of Reeca's rational mind. She clenched her fists by her side and forced out, "Yes, we met."

Airese ran a hand down her tied-up hair. "I think that the Sovereign forgot that I even existed. She stopped trying to grill information from me last month. After I extracted the rest of my soul to stall her, she stopped trying to talk to my form."

"I can see why," Reeca cast another look at the mute form sitting inside the cell. "Forms can barely think."

Airese chuckled. "It's amusing sometimes."

"But the Sovereign has forgotten you now," Reeca crossed her arms and leaned against the rails. "Why not escape now?"

Sadness flashed in the girl's brown eyes. It was something Reeca wouldn't expect from an actual flower-child. "I'll be another distraction if I go out," Airese sighed. "Xanthy has enough on her plate already. She already met Eldan and Marthiaq. She already met me. That's enough. I can live the rest of my life here."

Reeca's gut twisted. Then, something Airese said struck. "Wait," she crouched in front of the girl to level their gazes. "Marthiaq?"

"What about him?" Airese knitted her eyebrows.

Reeca's mind whirred. This was another piece of the puzzle of names that existed in her memory. "You know him?'' She braced her hand against the rails to steady herself in her crouch. "Elred told me that he was a traitor to Synketros."

Airese waved her hand in the air. "I don't know what you are doing with Anahel's daughter but Marthiaq was a friend. Still is," she shook her head. "I don't know about him being a traitor to Synketros. Eldan never told me that much."

"Anahel...?" Reeca breathed. Something clicked in her mind as more pieces of the puzzle fell into place. She met Airese's bluish eyes. "Is Phiaris Torlin your friend too?"

Airese brushed her soles against the floor. "We met in the Academy," she smiled as if she was remembering a memory. "Me, my sisters, Eldan, Marthiaq, Phiaris, Anahel, Zeral, Jarvik, and Geradine were inseparable back then."

"I'm Phiaris's daughter," Reeca placed a hand on her chest as a lump in her throat began forming.

Airese's face crumbled. "Oh, gods. I'm so sorry," she rasped. "I shouldn't have included them in my scheming. Now...we're here. I'm sorry."

Ezril's words reflected back to Reeca. They split Xanthy's soul to save her. Then, the Sovereign and the Heiress started picking on them one by one.

Recognition passed in Airese's eyes. "Now you see why I couldn't leave this place," she sighed. "Me going out would only give these organizations more targets to pick on. I can't provide more distractions for Xanthy. I'll be protecting her from here. "

"Don't you miss your family?" Reeca blurted. She cursed inwardly. Why was she even asking about that at this time? She should be out looking for information and not worrying about the Virtakios's mother.

Airese exhaled with amusement. "They are in my heart, forever," she turned to the vague direction of the prison's exit. "Go. Get out of here while you still can."

"And if I free you?" Reeca stood up and looked down at Airese.

Airese met her eyes as a stern expression flashed across her face. "Don't."

Then, she vanished.

That night, Reeca lay on the floor of their room tossing a yellow fruit in the air before catching it with her fist. Elred was pacing yet again, her boots scratching the dusty stone floor.

"The thrones are definitely in that chamber," Elred was saying. She wagged a finger in the air like she was preaching belief in the gods. "We just need to figure out what kind of security is imposed on there. There are no physical guards present but I still need your help in disabling those curses."

"I met someone today," Reeca said, interrupting Elred.

Elred stopped pacing to turn to her. She looked like a giant from Reeca's point of view from the floor. "Oh? I hope it's someone interesting."

"It's Xanthy's mother," Reeca caught the fruit one last time and let her arms fall perpendicular to her body. Elred's expression was a stone mask when Reeca turned her head to the shard fairy. "Don't tell me you don't know that she's been there the whole time."

Elred knitted her eyebrows. "Xanthy's mother is here?" she chuckled. "That's absurd."

Reeca sat up and set the fruit aside. It's not even tasty according to one of the servants she passed on the way here. "Shall I bring you along?" she cocked her head to one side. "Oh, it appears that your parents and Xanthy's are good, good friends. Is that a sign?"

"Shut up, Torlin," Elred's voice was a thin, papery edge.

Reeca locked eyes with the shard fairy. "I plan to free her."

"No, you won't touch her or that cell," Elred stalked closer to Reeca. A cloud passed through the shard fairy's face.

"I didn't even say that she's in a cell," Reeca narrowed her eyes. Got her. Elred paused half-way the distance between them. "You knew about this and you didn't say anything to Xanthy?"

Elred crossed her arms. "I'm not supposed to, remember? Airese is the ultimate pawn the Sovereign plans to use against Xanthy. It didn't work. Now, the Sovereign's pissed," she jabbed a finger in Reeca's direction. "You will not get an inch closer to that place. Our work is different."

"Now that she's lived her usefulness, won't the Sovereign kill her?" Reeca waved an arm in the air. "Why not free her now so she can join the war on our side? We'll be doing Xanthy a huge favor too."

"Get that silly thought out of your head," Elred exhaled as she turned to prop herself on the single high-backed chair present in this room. "You don't owe Xanthy anything for you to be doing something with too many risks involved. Forget it. Joining the war? She's a brownie."

Of course. Brownies don't fight in wars but this one has seen enough to do so. Reeca crossed her arms. "It's unjust to be kept that way."

Elred's scarlet eyes locked against Reeca's mismatched ones. "Justice doesn't matter here," the shard fairy's expression was flatter and harder than the floor. "Forget about that woman. We get the thrones in two days. The Sovereign is out to attend to something that involves her going out of the premises. I need you upstairs to disable security around the chamber."

"Fine," Reeca crossed her arms and glared at Elred. That should be the first thing Reeca was focusing on and not...freeing imprisoned mothers from cells. Still...if she freed Airese, Xanthy would have a reason to be indebted to Reeca. Perhaps, that's an appropriate payment for Reeca's deception?

Maybe.

Reeca gritted her teeth. One thing at a time, then. Help Elred with the thrones and after that, moving forward with her mission.

Two days, right? Reeca grinned. That's enough time to execute her own plan. Let her hope it was enough time to prepare her heart for yet another deception.