Iris stared at the words floating around. It took so long. In every iteration, every life that she visited this place, the answer was always the same. For once, for once in her long arduous life, it was different.

“So what’s this?” Francis asked.

“The Codex. It's an artefact I discovered in my 23rd regression, I believe. But every time I checked it, the Codex gave me the same answer.”

“And now things are different?”

“Yes. Somehow, you are the final piece of the puzzle.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. It spat out an answer far more cryptic than I imagined. But I can say for certain that in this timeline, my fate is tied to yours.”

“And mine is entangled in whatever yours is. Right, so how do we end the cycle?”

“That’s a tough question to answer, and frankly I don’t even know where to begin. I suppose we should start with you, since you’re the changing variable this time. Somehow, by you not being Francis Rayleigh but another person altogether, you are the needed piece. Not him.”

“Is that so?”

Iris turned to face him directly. To think that he was the key. She breathed a sigh of relief as she recalled the hostility she showed him when they first met. This opportunity could have turned into ash as early as that.

“What does the Codex do, exactly?”

“How do I explain it? Basically, it analyses available data, and spits out an answer.”

“The question?”

“That’s the thing. It answers the overhanging question that you have. For me, that would be ‘How do I break this cycle?’ and for you, it might be ‘How do I avoid my fate?’”

“Fran! I don’t know where the fuck you disappeared to, but for some reason, there’s an arrest warrant out for you,” Haein basically shouted through the ‘Messenger of the Mystics.’

“What the fuck?”

“Did we get discovered?” Francis asked.

“No, I don’t think so. If we did, they would have stormed in here and killed us already. The knowledge of this artefact is too much of a risk for the Loyrans to let us have.”

“If that’s the case, we can’t get caught here.”

Francis came closer to her, and she pulled him tight. Escaping unseen was the most important goal. She scanned their vicinity. There was no one there, at least none that she could detect. Still, they moved cautiously after placing the Codex back where it belonged.

A small gust of wind blew in from above. They inched their way back, taking care not to stumble. The slope upwards was slightly wet as water dripped from stalactites above. Iris kept her eyes trained, though they had already adapted to the lower light.

She held him closer. If he died now, everything would collapse. This house of cards, this near perfect storm of circumstances.

“Stay quiet. I don’t know what you did, but they want you.”

“I have a feeling as to why.”

“Say it, maybe we can figure it out while we’re safe here.”

“The Fourth Prince.”

“What does that bumbling fool have to do with this?”

“I don’t know the authenticity of the claims, but he allegedly is close with the religious leaders of Loyra.”

“And you’re saying he issued an arrest warrant for you?”

“Yes. The Loyra Kingdom is a theocracy, and the religious leaders are in high positions of society. They prevented the changes to Yhorhass laws.”

“Ah. So what crime do you think you committed?”

“I don’t know. I have several theories.”

“Can’t hurt to theorise.”

“Well, if it's option A or option B, I have a solution to that. If it's something that I don’t know about, then we have nothing.”

“So what’s A and B?”

“A is going against certain established social norms. Though, the last time that law was invoked is close to 65 years ago. B is a lot more complicated, since it's a false accusation.”

“You’re losing me. What’s A, and what’s B.”

“Okay. A is crossdressing, which I can solve pretty easily, especially with Colonel Janus’ help. B is gay sex.”

“And he accused you of sleeping with the Colonel.”

“Indeed. Thankfully, the solution to both is the same.”

“Oh? Are you going to rewrite the laws?”

“What? No, no. Nothing like that.”

Francis left Iris’ grasp. He gave a little twirl, like the dancers that she always heard about.He bowed his head slightly as he picked up his skirt’s edges.

“Frances Rayleigh. Though, I’ll most probably have to adopt a child if I go through with this.”

“Your sisters?”

“Are you asking for their approval or their children? Because if it's the latter, they don’t plan to have any in their lifetime.”

“I see. I wish you the best. Do they approve of your plans?”

“Not explicitly, but they’ve proven that they don’t really care. Shit, Elise was the one that helped me when I needed it.”

Iris nodded and faced towards the entrance of the cave system. They were close now. She pulled him back towards her chest, and pointed her fingers towards the source of the blowing air. If they got captured now, there was no telling how colossal of a wrench that would be.

“Careful. Until we know what you’re in trouble for, don’t get caught.”

“I wouldn’t recommend murdering anyone.”

“Just knocking them out.”

“Yeah. Leave the murdering to-”

“Shh!”

A set of footsteps echoed down. They were close to the mouth of the cave by then. The door that they walked through stayed open. Did she forget to close it? Or did someone enter? Iris made sure to tiptoe to the entrance, and peeked around. There, the two unconscious men lay with a peaceful expression. But she saw no one else.

“I think it's safe. Francis, your thoughts?”

“Then let’s go. I need to either meet up with Haein or find the Fourth Prince.”

“Can you sneak around?”

“Probably. If anything else, I can at least try to talk my way out of things.”

“Alright. Then for now, let’s head back to the empress.”

They snuck past a few unsuspecting guards. Actually, it seemed like no one was looking for them. Not quite as wanted as Iris thought.

“Is it just me or do they seem to be on low alert?” Francis asked.

“Probably because we’re on the lower levels. They think you’re still upstairs.”

“Let them continue then. It doesn’t hurt us.”

“Alright. Do you know the floor plan?”

“Haha, nope. You?”

“Neither do I.”

“Let’s pray that we have good fortune then.”

Retracing their steps, they made it back up. Above ground now, security was much more intense. Guards patrolled every hallway and corridor. Far more than below ground, and certainly more than earlier in the evening.

Iris placed her hand over Francis’ mouth, and more so carried him rather than let him walk. She peeked around the hallway. Guards dressed in loose robes walked around with spears in hand. Iris moved quietly, hiding in the shadows from the pervasive light of the torches hung on the walls.

“Haein, status update?”

“They’re waiting to grab you. Apparently it's the Fourth Prince’s doing. He activated some kind of archaic religious law.”

“You were right then.”

“So what’s your plan? And where are you two anyway? I swear, if you two are having some form of relations, in a fucking foreign land-”

“Relax, we’re not. I don’t understand why everyone keeps jumping to either sex or romance,” Iris shut down that avenue instantly.